<^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  '^ 


Purchased   by  the    Hamill    Missionary   Fund. 


BV  2400  .P6  1899 
Pierson,  Arthur  T.  1837- 
1911. 

The  miracles  of  missions 


^HE   MIRACLES 
J-     OF  MISSIONS 

MODERN  MARVELS 
IN  THE  HISTORY  OF 
MISSIONARY  EN- 
TERPRISE     ::      ::      :: 


BY    ARTHUR    T.    PIERSON 


THIRD    SERIES 


FUNK&WAGNALLS  COMPANY 
::    NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON,  1899    :: 


Copjrright,  1899,  by 

FUNK  &  WAGNAI,I,S  COMPANY 

[Registered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  England] 

PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Preface,        ......  v 

I. — How    the    River    Godavery   was 

Crossed,  .         .         .         .         .11 

II. — A  New  Pentecost  in  Uganda,        .     23 
III. — In  the  St.  John  Hospital,  Beirut,     43 
IV. — Work  Among  the  Deep-Sea  Fish- 
ermen, .         -64 
V. — ^The    Founding    of    the    Barotsi 

Mission,   .  .         .         .80 

VI. — Among   the    Red    Men  of    North 

America,  .         .         .         -93 

VII. — An  African  Saved  by  Grace,         .    iii 
VIII. — The  Blind  Apostle  of  Manchuria,    132 
IX.— Among     the     Little     Waifs     of 

London,  .         .         .         .         .148 

X.— The  Open  Door  Into  Ecuador,      .   168 
XI.— The  Isles  Waiting  for  God's  Law,   182 
XII. — The  Awakening  of  the  American 

Negro, 215 

XIII.— Ramabai  and  the  Women  of  India,   248 

ui 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


CHAPTER. 

V. — A  Christian  Missionary  Preaching  to  an 

African  Chief  and  his  People,     Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE. 

1. — Rev.  Jacob  Chamberlain,  M.D.,  D.D.,      .     ii 
II. — Geo.  L.  Pilkington  in  Uganda  .         .     24 

IV. — Fishermen    on  Board  the  Hospital   Ship 

'*  Queen  Victoria,"         .         .  .64 

Giving  Chloroform  in  the  Hospital  Ship 
"  Queen  Victoria,"         .  -74 

VI. — Teaching  Indians  to  Read  by  Characters 

on  Birchbark,  .....    100 

VII. — Women  Witch  Doctors  of  South  Africa,      124 
VIII. — Blind  Hanna  and  One  of  her  Classes  of 

Chinese  Women,    .....   134 

The  Bible  for  the  Blind  and  the  Sighted,    140 
IX. — George    Holland,    "The    Nestor  of  City 

Missions,"      ......   148 

XI. — Dr.  John  G.  Paton  and  the  New  Hebrides 

Mission  Synod,       .....    198 

A  Heathen  Chief  of  Futuna  and  Epeten- 

eto  the  First, 203 

XII. — Booker  T.  Washington,     ....   216 
Molders  of  the  Future  of  the  American 

Negro, 228 

XIII.— A  Young  Hindu  Child  Widow    and    her 

Adopted  Child, 250 

One   of    Ramabai's   School  Buildings    at 
Poona,  India, 260 

iv 


PREFACE. 


T  is  thought  well  to  issue  a  third 
series  of  these  little  sketches,  en- 
couraged by  the  somewhat  excep- 
tional success  of  the  first  and  second  series. 

The  fadl  is  that,  in  these  days  of  naturaHsm 
and  rationalism,  there  is  a  growing  sense  of 
yearning  for  proofs  and  examples  of  the  super- 
natural .  Down  deep  in  the  human  heart  there 
is  a  craving  for  God.  We  were  made  for  Him, 
and  our  hearts  find  no  rest  until  they  find  in 
Him  their  center  of  revolution,  like  wandering 
stars  wheeling  into  a  new  orbit.  The  mind 
demands  a  rest  in  settled  convi(5lion,  and  the 
heart  a  rest  in  satisfied  affe(5lion,  and  the  will 
a  rest  in  a  higher  and  dominant  and  beneficent 

will. 

The  history  of  missions  is  the  nearest  ap- 
proach in  modern  times  to  the  miraculous  in- 
terpositions of  primitive  and  apostolic  times. 
And  there  is  a  reason  why,  if  anywhere,  we 


VI  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

may  look  for  and  expect  Divine  and  special 
manifestation  in  the  work  of  missions.  What- 
ever may  be  thought  of  the  ministry  of 
the  miraculous,  and  the  facft  or  reason  of  the 
cessation  of  miracles,  one  thing  is  universally 
admitted,  namely,  that  when  the  foundations 
of  the  Church  were  being  laid,  and  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  was  first  being  authenticated  as  Di- 
vine, there  was  a  particular  demand  and 
reason  for  convincing  signs  of  God's  sanction, 
to  give  requisite  authority  and  affix  His  seal  of 
attestation  to  a  completed  revelation.  And  it 
has  been  argued  that,  when  these  proofs  be- 
came adequate,  they  were  discontinued  as  no 
longer  requisite.  As  base-blocks,  huge,  mas- 
sive and  unhewn,  are  needful  for  the  founda- 
tions of  a  building,  but  neither  necessary  nor 
appropriate  to  the  superstrudlure,  so  the  mirac- 
ulous works,  w^hich  served,  at  first,  to  es- 
tablish the  claims  of  the  Bible,  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  of  the  Gospel  of  His  salvation,  be- 
came correspondingly  superfluous  after  such 
confirmation  had  been  amply  supplied. 

But,  as  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon  used  to  maintain, 


PREFACE.  Vll 

when  and  where  this  same  Bible  with  its  Gospel 
message  first  comes  into  contadl  with  a  heathen 
people,  and  therefore  needs  Divine  sandlion, 
we  may  on  the  same  principles  expedl  some 
new  and  striking  exhibition  of  God's  power, 
giving  His  servants  boldness  to  speak  the 
word  by  stretching  forth  His  hand  to  work 
signs  and  w^onders. 

Whatever  may  be  our  philosophy  of  the  fads, 
the  fadls  are,  to  any  careful  and  candid  ob- 
server, indisputable,  that,  in  every  field  of  mis- 
sionary labor,  and  usually  in  proportion  to  the 
previous  degradation  and  deadness  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  marvels  of  the  apostolic  age  have  had 
a  parallel  in  a  wonder-working  of  God  that 
left  no  doubt  who  it  was  that  was  behind  the 
phenomena. 

Of  this  class  of  fads  these  brief  sketches, 
carefully  prepared  to  avoid  all  inaccuracy, 
misstatement,  and  overstatement,  are  both 
demonstrations  and  illustrations.  They  are 
but  handfuls  gathered  from  a  wide  harvest 
field,  and  gleanings  behind  reapers  who  have 
in  more  ponderous  sheaves  already  given  their 


viii         the;  miracles  of  missions. 

testimony.  These  sketches  are  brief,  and 
purposely  so,  because  they  are  meant  for  many 
who  can  not  command  time  or  means  to  explore 
more  bulky  volumes.  And  the  variety  of  the 
fields  from  which  these  stories  of  missionary 
heroism  and  reward  are  gathered,  will  serve 
to  show  how  wide  and  varied  also  is  the 
Divine  coworking  with  His  faithful  and  con- 
secrated servants. 

There  is  another  marked  feature  of  these 
narratives  to  which  attention  may  be  called. 
They  are  unique  in  this,  that  they  belong 
wholly  to  the  realm  of  Gospel  triumph.  Chris- 
tianity may  very  safely  challenge  any  other 
sort  of  work  besides  preaching  the  Gospel,  to 
produce  such  ample  proofs  of  God's  coopera- 
tion. There  is  but  one  all-subduing  force. 
It  is  love,  and  not  human  love  either,  but  the 
love  of  God,  and  the  love  of  man,  as  it  is  per- 
fecfted  only  in  His  love.  The  Gospel  message 
is  to-day  proving  itself  the  power  of  God  and 
the  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every 
one  that  believeth.  Nothing  else  does  or  ever 
did  work  such  results.     This  is  the  hammer  of 


PREFACE.  IX 

God  to  break  the  hardest  heart;  this  is  the 
fire  of  God  to  melt  and  subdue  and  fuse  all 
elements  of  opposition;  this  is  the  sword  of 
God  to  thrust  deep  and  cut  in  pieces  the 
rebellious  will;  this  is  the  rod  of  God,  that  has 
only  to  be  stretched  out  and  miracles  follow; 
it  swallows  all  other  rods,  and  alone  blossoms 
with  Divine  life. 

These  sketches  have  first  been  published 
in  the  Missionary  Review  of  the  \Vori.d. 
They  are  here  gathered  out  and  gathered 
together,  not  only  to  make  them  more  eas}^  of 
access,  but  especially  that,  associated  in  one  vol- 
ume, they  may  mutually  illustrate  each  other's 
central  lesson,  that  the  Lord  God  of  Elijah 
still  lives,  and  that  he  who  can  use  the  mantle 
in  faith,  to  smite  the  waters,  will  still  find 
that  they  part  before  the  more  than  magic 
charm  of  that  all-powerful  name,  JEHOVAH, 
GOD! 

Arthur  T.  Pierson. 
127  Dean  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
October,  1899. 


^V.    JACUii    l^n^iiiBKRLAlX,    JSl.  i>. .  J  >.  U. 


THE  MIRACLES  OF  MISSIONS. 

No.   I. 

How  Thk  River  Godavery  was  Crossed. 

N  that  charming  book,  "In  The 
Tiger  Jungle,"*  that  master  of 
missionary  narratives,  Rev.  Dr. 
Jacob  Chamberlain,  of  Madana- 
palle,  India,  records  a  most  impressiv^e  in- 
stance of  answered  prayer,  which  suggests 
what  an  encyclopedia  of  prayer  might  be 
gathered,  if  the  scattered  instances  of  God's 
remarkable  dealings  could  be  brought  into 
one  volume. 

Of  course,  the  whole  body  of  Christian  his- 
tory is  a  volume  of  testimony  on  this  subjec5l; 
but,  in  many  cases,  the  answers  of  God  can 
be  traced  only  by  a  believer,  for  they  are  real- 
ized only  in  the  plane  of  faith  and  not  of  sight, 

*  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co. 


12  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

and  can  be  seen  and  known  only  to  those  who 
live  on  that  higher  level.  Augustine's  mother, 
Monica,  besought  God  that  her  wayward  and 
skeptical  son  might  not  go  to  Rome,  where 
his  temptations  would  be  so  much  the  more 
seducflive;  nevertheless  it  was  that  very  going 
to  Rome,  which  led  to  his  being  sent  as  teacher 
of  rhetoric  to  Milan,  where  he  heard  Ambrose, 
the  bishop,  by  whose  preaching  and  personal 
influence  he  was  converted.  God  denied  the 
spoken  prayer  of  Monica  that  He  might  grant 
her  heart's  desire.  So  there  are  many  prayers 
which  are  not  granted  in  form  that  they  may 
be  in  fadl,  by  the  fulfilment  of  that  deeper 
yearning  of  which  the  request  is  the  mistaken 
expression.  And  so  it  comes  to  pass  that 
many  an  answer  is  found  in  God's  apparent 
silence  or  refusal.  Disappointment  becomes 
"His  appointment" — and  the  trusting  soul, 
living  in  the  high  plane  of  faith,  finds  an 
answer  in  that  lofty  altitude,  though,  on  a 
lower  level,  none  is  to  be  seen. 

Dr.    Chamberlain   himself  frankly   says   of 
one  of  his  remarkable  experiences:   "  I  do  not 


HOW   THE    GODAVERY   WAS   CROSSED.       1 3 

give  this  as  a  sample  of  what  usually  occurs 
on  our  preaching  tours.  God  does  not  often 
lift  the  veil;  He  bids  us  walk  by  faith  not  by 
sight.  We  often  meet  with  opposition,  or 
worse  still,  with  indifference.  We  often  wail 
with  Isaiah,  '  Lord,  who  hath  believed  our 
report,  and  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord 
revealed  ? '  But  now  and  then  God  sees  fit  to 
raise  one  corner  of  the  veil  and  let  us  see  what 
may  occur  in  scores  of  scattered  villages,  of 
which  we  shall  for  the  first  time  learn  when 
we  meet  those  redeemed  ones  in  the  land 
where  all  is  known." 

But,  to  return  from  this  digression,  the  in- 
stance now  to  be  given  of  prayer,  answered  in 
a  ver}^  obvious  and  recognizable  manner,  en- 
courages faith  to  trust  where  there  is  no  such 
obvious  and  visible  answer;  for  the  answer  is 
as  sure  in  every  case.  It  would  not  be  well 
for  the  discipline  of  faith  to  have  the  interpo- 
sition of  God  always  too  manifest;  we  should 
walk  too  much  by  sight,  if  we  had  the  seen  to 
depend  on  ;  and  it  is  the  hiding  of  God's 
power  behind   apparent   disappointment    and 


14  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

failure  that  trains  faith  to  uniform  and  un- 
doubting  trust. 

Dr.  Chamberlain  graphically  tells  how,  in 
September,  1863,  he  was  going  on  a  long 
pioneer  journey  into  Central  India,  where  no 
missionary  had  ever  gone  before.  It  required 
a  tour  of  twelve  hundred  miles  on  horseback, 
and  four  or  five  months'  time,  and  was  fraught 
with  great  peril,  from  jungle  fever,  and  still 
worse  jungle  tigers.  But  this  heroic  mission- 
ary fortified  himself  by  remembering  the 
command,  "Go  ye  unto  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature ; ' '  and 
the  accompanying  assurance,  '  *  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  age." 
Duty  called,  and  the  promise  was  the  shield  of 
defense. 

The  crisis  of  the  journey  is  the  point  with 
which  we  are  now  mainly  concerned.  The 
travelers  had  reached  the  farthest  northern 
point,  up  among  the  mountain  gonds  (or 
khonds),  who  for  centuries  offered  human 
sacrifices;  and  they  had  turned  to  go  back  by 
another     route.     They    expe(5led    to    find    a 


HOW   THE    GOD  AVERY   WAS   CROSSED.       1 5 

government  steamer,  when  they  struck  the 
Pranheta  River,  an  a£B.uent  of  the  great  Goda- 
very.  But  the  heavy  torrents  of  the  monsoon 
had  made  the  Godavery  a  stream  of  tumultu- 
ous waters,  three  miles  wide.  The  steamer, 
in  attempting  to  stem  that  fierce  current,  had 
broken  its  machinery  and  could  not  come  to 
their  aid.  There  was  now  no  way  out  of  their 
trouble  but  to  march  through  the  seventy-five 
miles  of  that  deadly  jungle,  dare  its  fever  and 
the  tigers,  and,  at  the  foot  of  the  second 
cataracfl,  reach  the  next  steamer. 

The  adventures  of  Dr.  Chamberlain  and  his 
party  were  thrilling,  deserted  as  they  were  by 
the  whole  force  of  coolies,  armed  guard  and 
all,  in  the  midst  of  an  uninhabited  districft. 
Desperate  but  successful  efforts  were  made  to 
get  across  the  wild  flood  of  the  Godavery,  and 
a  fresh  start  was  made  with  another  force  of 
coolies,  and  the  new  caravan  struck  once  more 
into  the  jungle,  amid  perils  and  exposures  so 
great  that  only  by  intimidation  could  even 
those  hardy  men  be  compelled  to  go  forward. 
At  last  a  new  and  seemingly  insurmountable 


1 6  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

obstacle  lay  in  their  way.  Two  huntsmen 
crossed  their  track,  from  whom  they  learned 
that  the  backwater  of  the  Godavery  flood, 
thirty  feet  higher  than  usual,  had  made  un- 
fordable  the  affluents  beyond  which  lay  their 
only  safe  resting-place  for  the  night.  And  to 
their  further  inquiries  the  answer  was  re- 
turned, that  there  was  neither  boat  nor  raft,  nor 
any  floating  material  to  make  a  raft,  whereby 
to  cross  to  the  knoll,  where  they  had  pur- 
posed to  encamp.  The  party  were  even  then 
standing  in  the  wet  and  mud,  as  they  surveyed 
their  hopeless  plight.  The  royal  guides  and 
native  preachers,  who  were  in  the  party,  were 
disheartened  and  at  their  wit's  end;  and  the 
fierce,  hungry  roar  of  the  tigers  could  be 
heard  about  them  as  the  night  began  to 
fall. 

At  this  point  Dr.  Chamberlain  rode  apart  to 
commit  the  whole  case  to  Him  who  hath 
said: 

Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble! 

I  will  deliver  thee 
And  thou  shalt  glorify  Me." 


HOW    the;    god  AVERY    WAS    CROSSED.       17 

This  was  the  substance  of  that  prayer  in  the 
greatest  strait  of  his  life: 

"  Master,  was  it  not  for  Thy  sake  that  we 
came  here  ?  Did  we  not  covenant  with  Thee 
for  the  journey  through  ?  Have  we  not  faith- 
fully preached  Thy  name  the  whole  long  way  ? 
Have  we  shirked  any  danger,  or  have  we 
quailed  before  the  foe  ?>  Didst  Thou  not 
promise,  '  I  will  be  with  Thee  ? '  Now  we 
need  Thee.  We  are  in  blackest  danger  for 
this  night.  Only  Thou  canst  save  us  from 
this  jungle,  these  tigers,  this  flood.  O,  l^laster, 
Master,  show  me  what  to  do  !  " 

An  answer  came,  says  Dr.  Chamberlain,  not 
audible  but  distindl,  as  though  spoken  in  his 
ear  by  human  voice:  ''Turn  to  the  left,  to  the 
Godavery,  and yotc  zvillfijid  rescue. ' ' 

It  was  a  mile  to  the  river.  Its  banks  were 
all  overflowed,  and  there  was  no  village  within 
many  miles,  nor  any  mound  or  rising  ground 
on  which  to  camp.  So  said  the  guides.  Again 
the  leader  of  the  caravan  rode  apart,  and  lifted 
to  God  another  prayer;  and  again  came  that 
inner  voice,  unmistakable  in  its  impression  on 


1 8  THE    MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

spiritual  senses,  then  supernaturally  on  the 
alert,  "  Turn  to  the  left,  to  the  Godavery,  and 
you  will  find  rescue."  Again  he  consulted 
his  guides,  but  only  to  meet  new  opposition. 
It  would  take  half  an  hour  to  make  the  ex- 
periment of  reaching  the  river  bank,  and  they 
would  only  lose  just  so  much  precious  time, 
and  have  to  come  back  to  the  jungle  after  all, 
leaving  them  so  much  less  strength  to  press 
forward  to  a  bluff  six  hours  further  on,  and 
it  would  be  dark  by  that  time,  and  then — the 
tigers ! 

With  the  deeper  darkness  of  despair  falling 
on  the  whole  company,  again  Dr.  Chamberlain 
rode  apart  for  prayer.  Once  more  that  inex- 
plicable inner  response,  heard  only  by  that 
praying  soul,  came  with  thrilling  distindlness. 
" //  is  God's  answer  to  my  prayer,''  said  Dr. 
Chamberlain.  *  *  I  can  not  doubt.  I  must  adl, 
and  that  instantly." 

And  so  he  called  a  halt,  and,  against  all  re- 
monstrance, commanded  the  column  to  wheel 
about  sharp  to  the  left,  and  take  the  shortest 
way  to  the  river.     Only  the  sight  of  that  four- 


HOW   THE   GOD  AVERY   WAS    CROSSED.       1 9 

teen-inch  revolver  in  the  leader's  hand  sufficed 
to  turn  that  column  toward  the  Godavery's 
flood.  To  the  native  preachers  who  looked 
up  into  his  face  as  though  to  ask  a  solution  of 
these  strange  movements,  Dr.  Chamberlain 
could  only  respond,  ' '  There  is  rescue  at  the 
river."  The  word  went  round  among  the 
coolies,  ' '  The  dhora  has  heard  of  some  help 
at  the  river."  He  had,  indeed,  heard  of  help, 
but  it  was  all  as  much  a  mystery  to  him  as  to 
them  in  what  form  that  help  was  to  be  found; 
and  yet  the  peace  of  God  possessed  him. 
Anxiety  was  somehow  gone,  and  in  its  place  a 
strange,  intense  expedlancy. 

Just  before  reaching  the  river.  Dr.  Chamber- 
lain cantered  ahead,  all  his  senses  keenly 
observant.  And,  as  he  emerged  from  the 
dense  undergrowth  of  bushes,  there,  rig/i^  at 
hisfeet^  lay  a  large  flat-boat,  tied  to  a  tree  at  the 
shore — a  large  flat-boat,  with  strong  railings 
along  both  sides,  with  square  ends  to  run  upon 
the  shore.  It  had  been  built  by  the  British 
military  authorities,  in  troublous  times,  to 
ferry    over    artillery    and    elephants,    but    it 


20  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

belonged  at  a  station  high  up  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Godavery. 

Two  men  were  trying  to  keep  the  boat  afloat 
in  the  tossing  current. 

' '  How  came  this  boat  here  ?  ' '  said  the 
dodlor. 

They,  taking  him  to  be  a  government  official 
who  was  calling  them  to  account,  begged  him 
not  to  be  angry  with  them,  and  protested  that 
that  they  had  done  their  best  to  keep  the  boat 
where  it  belonged,  but  declared  that  it  seemed 
to  them  possessed.  A  huge  rolling  wave  had 
swept  down  the  river,  snapped  the  cables,  and 
driven  the  boat  before  it.  Despite  their  best 
endeavors,  it  had  been  carried  further  and 
further  from  its  moorings  into  the  current  and 
down  stream;  they  said  they  had  fought  all 
day  to  get  it  back  to  the  other  shore,  but  it 
seemed  as  though  some  supernatural  power 
were  shoving  the  boat  over  the  river;  and  an 
hour  before,  they  had  given  up,  let  it  float  to 
its  present  position,  and  then  tied  it  to  a  tree. 
Again  they  begged  that  they  might  not  be 
punished  for  what  they  could  not  help. 


HOW  THK   GODAVKRY  WAS   CROSSKD.       21 

Dr.  Chamberlain,  who  was  clothed  with  full 
authority  to  use  any  government  property 
required  on  the  journey,  took  possession,  of 
course,  and  astonished  the  whole  party  who 
now  came  in  sight,  by  pointing  to  a  means  both 
of  safety  and  transportation,  which  no  human 
foresight  could  have  improved.  "Who  was 
it?" — says  the  grateful  missionary  pioneer — 
* '  who  had  ordered  that  tidal  wave  in  the 
morning  of  that  day,  which  had  torn  that  boat 
from  its  moorings,  and  driven  it  so  many  miles 
down  the  river  and  across  from  the  north  to 
the  south  bank,  and  that  had  thwarted  every 
endeavor  of  the  frightened  boatmen  to  force  it 
back  to  the  north  shore,  and  had  brought  it  to 
the  little  cove-like  recess,  just  at  that  point 
where  we  would  strike  the  river  ?  Who,  but 
He  on  whose  orders  we  had  come;  He  who  had 
said,  *  I  will  be  with  you;  '  He  who  knew 
beforehand  the  dire  straits  in  which  we  would 
be  in  that  very  place,  on  that  very  day,  that 
very  hour;  He  who  had  thrice  told  me  dis- 
tinctly, '  Turn  to  the  left,  to  the  Godavery, 
and  you  will  find  rescue  ? '     I  bowed  my  head. 


22  THK    MIRACI.es    of    MISSIONS. 

and  in  amazed  reverence  thanked  my  God  for 
this  signal  answer  to  my  pleading  prayer. ' ' 

This  answer  needed  no  watcher  high  upon 
the  mountain  top  to  see  the  divine  interposi- 
tion. Not  onl}^  the  native  preachers  rev- 
erently said,  "  God  has  heard  our  call  in  our 
trouble  and  delivered  us,"  but  the  guides  and 
even  coolies  were  struck  dumb  with  amaze- 
ment that  the  ' '  dhora  ' '  should  know  of  that 
boat  being  there  and  come  right  out  upon  it. 
They  w^ere  certain  that  they  had  no  knowledge 
of  such  a  rescue,  and  that  they  could  not  have 
found  it. 

Dr.  Chamberlain  closes  his  sketch  of  that 
pivotal  and  critical  dsiy  with  these  solemn 
words: 

' '  Nothing  can  equal  the  vivid  consciousness 
we  had  that  day  of  the  presence  of  the  Master; 
nothing  can  surpass  the  vividness  of  the  cer- 
titude that  God  did  intervene  to  save  us.  Some 
who  have  not  tested  it  may  sneer  and  doubt; 
but  we  five  know  that  God  hears  prayer. ' ' 


No.  II. 

A  New  Pentecost  in  Uganda. 

O  greater  proof  of  a  Living  God  is 
presented  by  the  history  of  mis- 
sions than  the  frequent,  sudden, 
overwhelming  experiences  of  Holy 
Spirit  power  in  the  communities  where  the 
Gospel  has  been  newly  preached.  The  won- 
ders of  apostolic  days  seem  reproduced. 

The  case  of  George  L.  Pilkington,  of  Ugan- 
da, and  the  native  church  in  that  land,  pre- 
sents an  instance  in  point. 

Referring  to  his  own  need  of  the  Spirit  he 
says: 

"If  it  had  not  been  that  God  enabled  me 
after  three  years  in  the  mission  field  to  accept 
by  faith  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  should 
have  given  up  the  work.  I  could  not  have 
gone  on  as  I  was  then,  A  book  by  David, 
the  Tamil  evangelist,  showed  me  that  my  life 


24  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

was  not  right,  that  I  had  not  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  I  had  consecrated  myself  hun- 
dreds of  times,  but  I  had  not  accepted  God's 
gift.  I  saw  now  that  God  commanded  me  to 
be  filled  with  the  Spirit.  Then  I  read:  "All 
things  whatsoever  ye  pray  and  ask  for,  believe 
that  ye  have  received  them  and  ye  shall  have 
them"  (Mark  xi:  24,  R.  V.),  and  claiming 
this  promise  I  received  the  Holy  Spirit. 

' '  I  distinguish  between  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  with  us  and  in  us;  our  blessed 
Xord  said  to  His -disciples,  "  He  abideth  ivith 
you  and  shall  be  in  you."     John  xiv:  17. 

* '  He  that  believeth  on  me,  out  of  his  belly 
shall  flow  rivers  (not  a  stream  or  a  simple 
river)  of  living  water.  Greater  works  than 
these  shall  ye  do  because  I  go  unto  the 
Father."  What  are  these  rivers,  and  where 
are  these  mighty  works  ?  We  must  ask 
rather,  where  is  ' '  he  that  believeth  on  Him  ? 
Surely,  He  is  not  unfaithful  to  a  single  line  of 
His  promise.  What  wonder  that  infidelity 
abounds  when  the  worst  infidelity  of  all  is  in 
our  hearts!     What  wonder  if  popery  increases, 


A   NEW   PENTECOST   IN   UGANDA.  25 

when  we  have  dethroned  the  Holy  Spirit  from 
our  hearts!  " 

About  this  same  time  a  great  desire  arose 
for  mission  services  to  be  held  in  Uganda.  In 
the  absence  of  special  missioners  from  abroad, 
it  occurred  to  the  missionaries  that  God  wanted 
to  use  them,  and  all  in  prayer  newly  dedicated 
themselves  to  Him,  and  asked  Him  to  baptize 
them  anew.     This  was  December  8,  1893. 

That  very  morning  they  began.  They  had 
not  told  the  people,  but  went  up  after  prayer, 
at  the  usual  time,  believing  for  a  blessing. 
Mr.  Pilkington  condudled  the  meeting.  They 
sang 

Have  you  been  to  Jesus  for  the  cleansing  power? 
and  Mr.  Pilkington  prayed,  and  then  spoke  of 
a  very  sad  case  which  had  indiredlly  led  to 
the  convi6lion  that  there  was  need  of  such 
meetings,  and  of  some  new  power  coming  down 
from  God  on  the  native  church  and  even  on 
the  missionaries.  A  certain  Musa  Yakuganda 
had  come  to  the  missionaries  and  asked  to 
have  his  name  given  out  as  having  returned  to 
the  state  of  a  heathen.     The  reason  he  gave 


26  THE   MIRACI^ES   OF   MISSIONS. 

was  startling.  He  said :  "I  get  no  profit 
from  your  religion. ' '  Being  asked  if  he  knew 
what  he  was  saying,  he  replied:  "Do  you 
think  I  have  been  reading  seven  years  and  do 
not  understand  ?  Your  religion  does  not  profit 
me  at  all.  I  have  done  with  it. "  This  case 
was  dwelt  on  by  Mr.  Pilkington,  who  pointed 
out  what  a  cause  of  shame  and  reproach  it  was 
to  the  missionaries.  The  sense  of  need  of  the 
deeper  and  fuller  life  and  power  of  the  Spirit 
took  strong  hold  on  the  missionary  preachers 
and  teachers.  First  of  all  they  were  humbled 
before  God;  then  blessing  came  to  the'  whole 
native  church.  On  two  occasions  hundreds 
were  all  praying  for  forgiveness,  while  others 
were  in  the  simplest  language  praising  God. 
The  meeting,  which  began  at  8.30  A.M.,  did 
not  close  till  12,  and  then  another  service 
began  in  the  church  directly. 

Each  morning  full}'  five  hundred  were  pres- 
ent, and  they  all  found  themselves  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  spiritual  revival,  and  their  joy  was 
beyond  expression.  At  the  after  meetings 
two  hundred  were  waiting  for  individual  deal- 


A  NEW  PKNTECOST  IN  UGANDA.     27 

ing.  Among  others  who  were  the  fruits  of 
this  work  was  that  same  Musa  who  had  asked 
his  name  to  be  announced  as  having  gone  back 
to  heathenism.  Great  chiefs  in  the  land 
boldly  confessed  their  wish  to  accept  Christ, 
and  one,  who  had  been  a  leading  teacher  and 
suspended  for  miscondudl,  acknowledged,  in 
the  presence  of  the  king  and  his  pages,  that 
he  had  not  before  accepted  the  Lord  Jesus  as 
his  Savior,  but  did  so  then.  The  mission- 
aries appointed  the  week  following  the  mission 
services  as  a  time  for  special  meetings  for  the 
deepening  of  the  spiritual  life. 

Those  wonderful  three  days,  Dec.  8-10, 
1893,  will  never  be  forgotten.  They  were  the 
signal  for  years  of  blessing,  pentecostal  in 
characfter  and  wonderful  in  results.  First  of 
all  God  had  brought  the  missionaries  to  hum- 
ble themselves,  feel  their  need,  and  seek  larger 
blessing — to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit.  Then 
they  were  led  to  confess  to  the  native  church 
their  previous  lack  of  faith,  of  power,  and  of 
prayer,  and  to  ask  God  for  forgiveness.  Then 
came    similar    humiliations    and    confessions 


28  THE   MIRACI.KS   OF   MISSIONS. 

among  the  native  converts  of  Uganda.  Many 
who  had  been  looked  upon  as  leading  disciples 
began  to  see  their  lack  also,  and  to  realize  a  new 
force  and  power  in  their  Christian  experience. 
In  fact,  such  a  spirit  of  confession  and  humilia- 
tion was  poured  out  on  the  native  church, 
and  such  secret  sins  came  to  light  in  this  great 
upturning,  and  uncovering  of  hidden  things, 
that  the  missionaries  felt  called  on  to  restrain 
these  public  confessions,  lest  they  should 
bring  too  great  reproach  on  the  name  of  Christ, 
and  the  awakened  backsliders  were  counseled 
to  seek  the  brethren  for  private  confession, 
and  prayer  before  God. 

It  was  particularly  noticeable  how  the  con- 
versions and  reclamations  were  almost  invari- 
ably connected  with  knowledge  of  the  Word  oj 
God.     At  the  I^iverpool  Conference  in   1896, 
Mr.  Pilkington  said  : 

' '  The  power  to  read  the  Bible  is  the  key  to 
the  kingdom  of  God.  With  the  exception  of 
one  case,  I  have  never  known  ayiy  one  to  pro- 
fess Christ  who  could  not  read. ' ' 

Throughout  this  great  revival  in  Uganda, 


A   NKW   PKNTKCOST   IN   UGANDA.  29 

God  has  thus  put  special  and  very  remarkable 
emphasis  upon  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the 
means  both  of  the  new  birth  and  the  new 
quickening  in  spiritual  life.  A  plan  was 
adopted  of  eredling  reading  houses^  or,  as  the 
people  called  them,  "  synagogi,"  where  native 
teachers  could  instruc5l  the  people  under  the 
supervision  of  more  experienced  workers. 
The  system  was  fully  organized  and  became  a 
leading  feature  of  the  work.  It  was  the  means 
of  causing  the  revival  which  had  started  in  the 
capital  to  spread  that  same  year  far  and  wide 
through  the  various  outlying  stations. 

By  April  i,  1894,  between  thirty  and  forty 
teachers  had  offered  themselves  for  such  ser- 
vice in  the  country  distri(5ls,  and  thirteen  were 
solemnly  sent  out  on  one  Sunday,  and  seven 
more  the  next  week.  Shortly  word  came 
from  the  islands  of  an  enormous  increase  of 
' '  reading. ' '  A  spirit  of  new  inquiry  was 
found,  even  among  Roman  Catholics  and  Mos- 
lems. In  the  autumn  of  1894,  before  the 
church  at  Mengo  fell  in  a  great  storm,  at  least 
2,000  were  assembling  every  week-day  morn- 


30  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

ing,  and  in  the  200  country  churches  some 
7,000  more,  and  on  Sundays  20,000  in  the  va- 
rious places  of  meeting.  Of  these,  6,000  were 
in  classes,  under  regular  instrucftion ;  and  this 
great  work,  reaching  out  over  a  circle  of  terri- 
tory three  hundred  miles  in  diameter,  and 
nearly  one  thousand  in  circumference,  had  to 
be  directed  by  only  twelve  Europeans,  who 
worked  with  the  double  hindrance  of  an  im- 
perfe(ft  knowledge  of  the  language,  and  con- 
stant liability  to  fever.  Yet,  with  all  these 
disadvantages,  the  work  so  rapidly  extended 
that,  when,  in  December,  the  year  1894  was 
reviewed,  some  such  results  as  the  following 
were  obvious  as  signs  of  God's  moving: 

When  the  year  began  the  number  of  country 
churches,  reading  rooms,  or  synagogi,  did  not 
exceed  twenty;  at  the  close  of  the  year  there 
were  ten  times  that  number,  and  the  ten  largest 
would  hold  4,500  persons.  Exclusive  of  the 
capital,  there  were  on  week  days  not  less  than 
4,000,  and  on  Sundays,  20,000  hearers  of  the 
Gospel.  The  first  teachers,  paid  by  the  native 
church,  went  forth  in  April,  and  in  December 


A   NEW   PENTECOST    IN   UGANDA.  3 1 

there  were  131  of  these,  in  85  stations,  twenty 
of  which,  being  outside  Uganda  proper,  were 
in  a  sense  foreign  mission  stations.  Even 
these  figures  can  not  represent  the  whole  work, 
nor  does  this  number  embrace  all  the  teachers, 
twenty  of  whom,  not  reckoned  in  the  above 
number,  were  at  work  at  Jungo.  At  Bu'si 
also,  an  island  near  Jungo,  there  were  three 
churches,  and  2,000  people  under  instruction. 
The  ' '  readers  ' '  ordinarily  became  catechu- 
mens, and  the  catechumens,  candidates  for 
baptism.  In  1893  the  catechumens  numbered 
170;  during  the  year  1894  some  800  were  bap- 
tized, and  1,500  catechumens  remained.  The 
movement,  so  far  from  having  expended' its 
force,  seemed  not  yet  to  have  reached  its 
height,  and  there  was  every  evidence  that  an 
enormous  accession  would  yet  come,  as  was 
the  case. 

Mr.  Pilkington  went  to  England  on  fur- 
lough, in  the  summer  of  1895,  and  eledlrified 
the  audiences  he  addressed  by  his  stirring  ac- 
count of  the  dealings  of  God  with  the  Uganda 
mission.       Nothing    was    more    noticeable   in 


32  THE   MIRACLES    OF   MISSIONS. 

his  addresses  than  the  emphasis  he  laid  on  this 
fadl,  that  \h.^  first  step  in  this  vivification  of  the 
church  in  Uganda  was  that  the  inissionaries 
and  teacher's  themselves  were  led  to  just  views  of 
their  ow7i  deep  7ieed ;  to  see  the  absolute  neces- 
sity for  personal  consecration,  and  for  the  ex- 
perience of  a  direcft  and  supreme  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  themselves. 

Here,  then,  we  have  another  mighty  argu- 
ment for  seeking,  with  a  desperate  sense  of 
helplessness  and  with  a  confident  faith  in 
God's  promise,  Holy  Ghost  power.  Not  to 
Mr.  Pilkington  and  his  fellow-workers  only 
was  this  indispensable,  but  the  whole  native 
church  of  Uganda  owes  the  almost  unparalleled 
movement  of  the  last  decade  of  years  to  the 
new  enduements  of  power  which  proved  to 
these  missionaries  such  a  divine  equipment  for 
their  work. 

It  was  this  outpouring  of  Holy  Spirit  power 
whereby  the  native  evangelists  do  grand  work 
in  Uganda, — another  proof  that  Africa  is  to  be 
ultimately  evangelized  by  Africans,  and  that 
the  office  of  missionaries  from  America  and 


A   NKW   PENTECOST   IN   UGANDA.  33 

Europe  is  to  raise  up  a  native  church,  with 
trained  native  teachers.  In  Uganda,  as  in 
many  other  parts  of  the  heathen  world,  the 
people  can  follow  but  can  not  lead,  and  some 
one  from  outside  must  lead  and  organize. 

A  few  examples  of  the  efficiency  of  these 
Waganda  evangelists  will  suffice  as  representa- 
tive cases. 

A  missionary  visiting  a  small  island  in  the 
lake  two  or  three  years  ago,  found  but  one 
person  who  could  read  at  all.  Two  teachers 
were  sent,  and,  after  nine  months,  sixty  were 
reading  the  Gospel.  Two  teachers  were  sent 
to  another  island,  and  in  a  year  one  very  rude 
church  building,  that  even  when  uncomforta- 
bly full  could  hold  but  one  hundred,  had  multi- 
plied into  four,  one  of  which  would  hold  seven 
hundred;  the  original  congregation  of  a  hun- 
dred had  multiplied  tenfold,  and  fifty  or  more 
had  been  baptized. 

On  the  large  island  of  Sese  all  the  chiefs 
are  Roman  Catholics.  Yet  there  are  some 
three  hundred  and  twenty  Protestants,  nick- 
named   ' '  The    people   of   the   Holy  Ghost, ' ' 

ui— 3. 


34  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

which,  like  the  nickname  "Christians"  at 
Antioch,  is  an  honor,  not  a  reproach;  and 
these  disciples,  ignorant  as  they  are,  evince  a 
like  readiness  with  the  early  Christians  to  face 
opposition  and  persecution  for  His  name,  and 
nowhere  has  a  greater  desire  for  ' '  reading  ' ' 
been  shown. 

The  educational  value  of  the  reading  of 
God's  Word  has  been  very  noticeable  in 
Uganda.  The  very  physiognomy  of  the  peo- 
ple seems  to  have  been  modified  by  it,  so  that 
it  is  almost  possible  to  distinguish  a  reader  by 
his  outward  appearance.  The  reality  of  God 
seems  to  impress  itself  on  the  native  mind 
more  forcibly  by  this  daily  poring  over  the 
pages  of  the  New  Testament,  at  first  mechani- 
cally and  almost  blindly,  then  with  eyes  par- 
tially opened  to  catch  a  glimpse  or  a  glimmer- 
ing of  the  meaning,  until,  with  another  illumin- 
ing touch  of  God,  the  Divine  message  of  love 
is  intelligently  grasped.  Sometimes  the  im- 
pression is  like  a  driven  nail  clinched  and 
fastened  by  a  sermon,  or  a  prayer  service,  or 
the  faithful  words  of  a  friend.     What  a  lesson 


A   NEW   PENTECOST   IN   UGANDA.  35 

God  is  thus  teaching  us  all  as  to  the  honor  and 
value  He  sets  on  His  own  Word,  and  this  at  a 
time  when,  more  than  ever  before,  even  pro- 
fessed Christian  teachers  in  Christian  lands 
seem  bent  on  lowering  in  the  public  mind  the 
sense  of  the  dignity  and  majesty  of  the 
Heavenly  message.  At  first  those  Waganda 
who  hear  these  words  find  them  unintelligible; 
such  terms  as  sin  and  salvation,  love  and 
faith,  convey  little  meaning  to  minds  that 
have  been  cast  in  the  narrow  and  cramped  mold 
of  heathenism.  But,  as  they  hear  and  read, 
Scripture  interprets  itself,  and  under  the  light 
of  the  Spirit  they  get  totally  new  ideas  of 
Divine  mysteries. 

The  outcome  of  this  Holy  Spirit  revival  in 
Uganda  can  not  be  measured;  only  from  the 
Spirit  comes  the  clear  vision  of  Divine  truth, 
as  well  as  the  inward  experience  of  Divine 
life.  And  in  the  native  preachers  there  has 
been  developed  remarkable  spiritual  discern- 
ment and  power  in  presenting  truth. 

A  preacher  at  Mengo  said  in  his  sermon 
that  "  to  form  a  judgment  ot  man's  deserts. 


36  THK   MIRACLES  OP"   MISSIONS. 

man's  way  is  to  put  into  one  scale  his  evil 
deeds  and  vices,  and  into  the  other  his  virtues 
and  religious  observances;  but  that  God' s  way 
in  such  a  case  would  be  to  put  both  these  into 
the  same  debit  scaled  This  native  preacher 
had  learned  that  rudimental  truth,  hidden 
from  many  of  the  wise  and  prudent,  that  "  all 
our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags,"  and 
that  the  only  hope  of  justification  is  that 
the  perfecft  obedience  of  our  adorable  Lord, 
Jesus  Christ,  shall  be  placed  in  the  credit  scale, 
and  so  overbalance  and  outweigh  our  evil  and 
selfish  deeds. 

Another  preacher,  discriminating  between 
inward  heart  piety  on  one  hand  and  outward 
religious  observances  on  the  other,  used  the 
following  apt  and  original  simile: 

'  *  Religion  may  be  compared  to  a  banana  (the 
natural  food  of  the  Baganda).  The  real  heart 
religion  is  the  juicy  pulp;  the  forms  and 
ceremonies  are  the  skin.  While  the  two  are 
united  and  undivided  the  banana  keeps  good 
until  it  is  used.  And  so  it  is  with  religion. 
Separate  the  forms  from  the  spirit,  and  the  one 


A   NEW   PENTECOST  IN  UGANDA.  37 

will  be  of  no  more  value  than  the  banana  husk, 
while  the  latter  will  speedily  decay  and  become 
corrupt,  apart  from  the  outward  expression. 
Observances  have  their  value  in  protedting  the 
holy  germ  within,  and  fostering  the  feelings 
of  the  heart. ' ' 

This  discourse  had  its  suggestion  in  a  certain 
spirit  of  insubordination,  which  sought  to  rebel 
against  the  ordinances  of  the  church.  But  as 
Mr.  Pilkington  asks,  ' '  What  European  teacher 
could  have  used  such  a  simile  ? ' ' 

Another  native  preacher,  referring  to  Romish 
teaching,  said: 

"  No  poisoner  gives  poison  meat  if  he  would 
remain  undiscovered.  The  devil  knows  that. 
He  has  two  devices;  he  will  do  one  of  two 
things;  first  try  to  deprive  you  of  the  food,  and 
if  he  can  not,  he  will  corrupt  it. ' ' 

Pilkington  before  British  hearers  pleaded 
earnestly  for  a  sufficient  force  to  take  possession 
of  this  great  opportunity  in  Uganda — for  a  hun- 
dred additional  missionaries,  men  and  women 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  organizers  and 
leaders  for  native  workers,  at  least  ten  of  whom 


38  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

could  master,  and  then  translate  into,  the 
native  tongues;  and  with  rare  insight  into  the 
true  philosophy  of  missions  he  urged  a  new 
policy  of  occicpation .  He  contended  that  the  only 
true  method  of  distributing  missionary  workers 
is  to  send  a  large  force  when  and  where  a  desire 
for  histru^lion  and  an  aggressive  missionary 
spirit  have  been  strongly  developed  among  the 
native  converts,  instead  of  sending  the  bulk  of 
missionarj^  force  to  places  where  there  is  neither 
desire  for  teachers  nor  a  missionary  spirit. 
His  argument  was  that  the  ultimate  outcome 
of  the  former  method  will  be  far  the  greater  in 
good.  For  instance,  he  said,  after  ten  years 
little  or  no  impression  will  have  been  made  on 
the  indifferent  and  hostile  community,  and  this 
begets  depression  among  the  workers  and  in 
the  church  at  home.  Whereas,  if  the  work  at 
the  field  where  God's  Spirit  had  been  out- 
poured, were  reenforced,  it  would  so  progress 
as  to  become  a  source  of  wide  influence;  a  strong 
native  church  would  be  developed  with  a  large 
force  of  native  evangelists,  and  thus  the  fire 
God  has  kindled  is  carried  to  the  other  field 


A  NEW  PENTECOST  IN  UGANDA.     39 

and  transferred  to  this  other  center.  The 
result  is  encouragement  both  among  the  mis- 
sionary band  abroad,  and  the  supporters  at 
home. 

So  strongly  did  this  plea  aflfecft  his  hearers 
and  the  readers  of  his  addresses  that,  for 
example,  the  missionaries  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  India  asked  the  society, 
when  it  could  be  done,  to  send  candidates, 
offering  to  go  to  India,  to  Uganda,  for  the 
time  being,  instead,  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
exceptional  opening  in  that  field,  the  growing 
convidlion  being  that'  God's  singular  blessing 
in  any  particular  field  is  a  signal  for  a  special 
reenforcement  at  that  time  of  the  force  at  work 
there. 

Mr.  Pilkington  gave,  in  Britain,  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  Uganda  work  in  the  shape  of 
four  consecutive  scenes,  afterward  issued  in 
pamphlet  form,  and  called  "The  Gospel  in 
Uganda,"  the  substance  of  which  is  as  follows  : 

A  hundred  thousand  souls  brought  into 
close  contadl  with  the  Gospel,  half  of  them 
able  to  read  for  themselves;  two  hundred  build- 


40  the:  miracles  of  missions. 

ings  raised  by  native  Christians,  in  which  to 
worship  and  read  the  Word  of  God;  two 
hundred  native  evangelists  and  teachers  wholly 
supported  by  the  native  church;  ten  thousand 
New  Testaments  in  circulation ;  six  thousand 
souls  seeking  instrudlion  daily;  numbers  of 
candidates  for  baptism,  confirmation,  and  of 
adherents  and  teachers,  more  than  doubling 
each  year  for  six  or  seven  years,  and  God's 
power  shown  by  their  changed  lives — and  all 
these  results  in  the  very  center  of  the  world's 
thickest  spiritual  darkness  and  death  shade  ! 

This  was  in  1896,  and  later  reports  eclipse 
even  this. 

The  changes  wrought  by  the  Gospel  in 
Uganda  can  be  appreciated  only  by  setting  in 
sharp  contrast  the  state  of  things  in  1880  and 
in  1895. 

Old  Isaiah,  "  the  good-natured  giant,"  will 
tell  how  three  hundred  brothers  and  cousins 
of  the  king  were  penned  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  the  dike,  still  visible  by  the  road- 
side, two  or  three  miles  north  of  Mengo,  and 
by  his  orders  left   there  to  starve   to   death! 


A    NKW    PRNTECOST    IN    UGANDA.  41 

A  boy  of  fifteen  lost  sight  of  a  goat  he  was 
herding,  and  his  master  cut  off  his  ear.  For 
a  trifling  misdemeanor  both  eyes  were  gouged 
out.  An  unfortunate  courtier  accidentally  trod 
on  the  king's  mat,  and  paid  the  penalty  with 
his  life.  The  king,  simply  to  support  his 
royal  dignity,  ordered  the  promiscuous 
{slaughter  of  all  who  happened  to  be  standing 
on  his  right  and  left  hand,  or  all  who  might 
be  met  on  the  streets  at  a  certain  time,  by  a 
band  sent  out  for  the  purpose  of  such  slaughter. 
Should  a  remonstrance  be  made  against  killing 
the  innocent,  the  answer  would  be,  "  If  I  only 
kill  the  guilty,  the  innocent  will  not  respe(5l 
me."  Women  and  children  were  sold  into 
hopeless  slavery  and  misery.  Spirits  were 
believed  in,  feared,  propitiated,  and  worshiped. 
Charms  were  worn;  woman  was  a  beast  of 
burden,  etc. 

Christ  and  his  Gospel  has  changed  all  this. 
Domestic  slavery  no  longer  has  any  legal 
status,  and  any  slave  may  claim  freedom,  and 
this  claim  will  be  honored.  Woman  takes 
her   place    by    man's    side.       Conversion  has 


42  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

brought  victory  over  vicious  habits;  cruelty  is 
seen  to  be  cruelty,  and  around  the  Lord's 
table  gather  from  time  to  time  those  who  were 
once  darkness,  but  now  light  in  the  Lord, 
"washed,  sandlified,  justified,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  b}-  the  Spirit  of  our  God." 


No.  III. 

In  the  St.  John  Hospital,  Beirut. 

,EFORE  the  World's  Missionarj^ 
Conference  in  Exeter  Hall,  Lon- 
don, in  1888,  there  was  given  the 
most  remarkable  testimony  to 
medical  missions  which  we  have  ever  heard. 
It  ought  to  have  a  wider  circulation,  and  we 
embrace  it  in  this  volume  that  many  more 
readers  may  have  access  to  it.  We  have  not 
known  any  other  address  on  the  subje(5l  which 
is  comparable  with  it. 

Dr.  George  E.  Post,  of  Beirut,  Syria,  said  : 
I  shall  take  you  at  once  to  the  forefront  of 
the  battle,  and  try  to  give  you  a  series  of 
living  pi(5lures  of  medical  mission  work  in  the 
field.  Imagine  3"0urselves  with  me  to-day  in 
a  room  which  will  hold  about  two  hundred 
people,  in  the  city  of  Beirut  ;  within  the 
enclosure  of   the  hospital   of  the  Knights  of 

43 


44  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

St.  John,  belonging  to  the  German  order,  of 
which  Prince  Albrecht  is  the  president,  and  to 
which  the  emperor  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
nobility  of  Germany  belong.  The  day  is 
Christmas;  the  occasion  is  the  celebration  of 
their  annual  festival  for  the  benefit  of  the 
patients  in  the  hospital.  Imagine  to  your- 
selves in  the  middle  of  this  room  a  Christmas 
tree  decked  out  as  you  deck  it  out  for  your 
festival  in  this  land,  or  rather,  if  you  please, 
as  the  Germans,  with  their  exquisite  tastes  and 
with  their  fervent  feelings  with  regard  to  this 
daj',  deck  their  Christmas  trees. 

Imagine  to  yourselves  the  patients  assem- 
bling and  grouping  themselves  about  this  tree, 
while  on  the  chairs  around  the  edges  of  the 
room  is  a  select  company  of  English,  Ameri- 
cans, Germans,  French,  and  Arabs,  natives  of 
the  country  and  people  of  other  nationalities, 
gathered  to  witness  the  spectacle.  And  while 
they  are  assembling  I  will  try  to  describe  to 
you  the  personnel  and  the  history  of  some  of 
those  patients. 

The  first  whom  we  see  before  us  is  a  little 


IN   THS   ST.    JOHN   HOSPITAI,,    BEIRUT.     45 

boy  of  seven  years  of  age.  That  boy  is  a  Jew. 
We  rarely  get  Jews  into  our  hospital.  You 
know  how  it  was  in  the  days  of  Christ,  that 
the  Jews  were  attending  to  pots  and  pans  and 
brazen  vessels,  and  days  and  weeks  and 
months  and  years,  and  that  they  forgot  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  law.  They  forgot  the 
essence  of  religion.  So  they  are  at  this  day  : 
they  are  all  bent  upon  externals.  They  are 
afraid  if  they  come  to  our  hospital  that  we 
will  give  them  the  uneatable  flesh  ;  they  are 
afraid  we  will  give  them  flesh  which  would  be 
canonical,  but  which  has  not  been  killed 
according  to  their  law.  This  little  boy  is  very 
ill,  he  needs  the  hospital;  he  is  so  young  that 
they  think  he,  perhaps,  can  not  be  harmed;  he 
is  not  yet  initiated  into  the  secrets  of  religion. 
I  do  not  know  how  it  is,  but  there  he  is. 
We  sometimes  do  get  Jewish  children.  He  is 
going  to  hear  about  Jesus  Christ  —  the  first 
time  in  his  life  that  he  has  ever  heard  the 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

Just  behind  this  Jewish  boy  sits  an  old  man 
with  a  venerable  presence,  a  long  white  beard. 


46  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

a  turban,  a  girdle  about  his  loins,  and  a  loose 
flowing  robe.  Whom  do  you  suppose  that 
man  to  be  ?  Why,  he  is  a  lineal  descendant 
of  the  great  Saladin.  He  is  proud  of  his 
lineage.  But  here  he  is,  in  our  hospital,  a 
Mohammedan.  A  month  ago  if  I  had  gone 
to  his  house  he  would  have  driven  me  away 
as  a  Christian  dog.  But  now,  as  he  comes 
into  this  room,  he  seizes  my  hand,  covers 
it  all  over  with  kisses,  and  bows  himself  to 
my  very  feet.  What  led  him  to  bow  down 
to  that  Christian  dog?  That  dog  gave  him 
the  use  of  his  eyes.  He  came  there  blind,  and 
now  he  sees.  And  here  he  sits  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  with  his  eyes  opened  and  his  ears  ready 
to  receive  the  message  of  the  Gospel. 

By  his  side  there  is  a  woman  with  a  long 
white  veil  over  her  face.  You  see  but  one  eye. 
She  wears  a  blue  dress.  She  has  a  little  babe 
in  her  arms  ;  but  look  at  her  arms  :  the  hands 
are  gone.  That  woman  is  a  Druse  woman. 
She  was  sitting  in  her  house  in  the  mountains, 
warming  her  hands  over  the  fire  in  the  center 
of  the  floor.     The}-  have  no  chimneys  there — 


IN   THE  ST.    JOHN    HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT.     47 

in  many  of  the  houses  they  have  no  windows. 
They  let  the  smoke  go  out  of  the  door.     Well, 
as  she  was  sitting  there  warming  her  hands, 
some  earth  and  stones  and  sticks  fell  from  the 
roof  and  pinioned  her  hands  in  the  fire,  and 
her  hands  were  burned  to  a  crisp.     She  came 
down  to  our  hospital,  and  w^e  were  obliged  to 
amputate  both  of  her  hands.     Poor  woman, 
that  is  not  the  worst  of  it.     Her  husband  has 
divorced  her.     A  Druse  has  only  to  say  to  his 
wife,  "  Go  home,"  and  with  no  process  of  law 
it  is  all  finished  for  her.     But  she  has  come 
down  with  that  poor  babe,  and  we  have  been 
kind  to  her;  we  have  treated  her;  she  has  seen 
those  dear  sisters  take  that  babe  in  their  arms 
and  lull  it  to  sleep.     They  have  read  the  Bible 
to  her,  and  her  heart  has  been  touched.     And 
now  she  sits  there  before  that  tree,  which  is 
the  emblem  of  the  love  of  Christ,  and  she  is 
going  to  hear  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Just  on  the  other  side  is  another  man,  with  a 
long  beard  and  a  green  turban.  That  man  is 
a  descendant  of  Mohammed.  Where  do  you 
suppose  he  came  from?     He  came  from  He- 


48  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

broil ;  he  is  the  guardian  of  the  sacred  tomb  of 
Machpelah,  and  has  had  charge  of  the  bones 
of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  Sarah, 
Rebecca,  and  Leah.  He  is  a  very  bigoted 
Mohammedan.  He  would  not  let  you  go  even 
into  the  outer  precindls  of  that  sacred  tomb,  nor 
let  you  look  through  the  bars  where  those 
blessed  ashes  repose.  No  man  has  been  al- 
lowed to  go  into  the  innermost  recesses  of  that 
most  sacred  place.  The  very  boys  of  Hebron 
would  stone  you  away  if  3^ou  attempted  to  go 
near  their  mosque.  What  brought  him  here  ? 
Sickness.  He  was  blind.  He  came  to  this 
hospital,  and  the  dog  that  he  would  have  spat 
upon  is  the  man  that  gave  him  the  use  of  his 
two  eyes.  And  he  will  now  give  his  heart 
and  his  attention  to  the  medical  missionary  as 
he  preaches  the  Gospel  to  him. 

Again,  off  on  one  side  there  is  a  man  clothed 
in  a  long  blue  robe.  He  has  a  peculiar  hat  on 
his  head — a  turban  of  a  peculiar  characfter, 
and  a  long  black  veil  trailing  down  his  back. 
That  man  is  an  Armenian  priest.  We  some- 
times   talk    about    'the    Apostolic    Church,' 


IN   THK   ST.    JOHN   HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT.     49 

but  that  man  believes  that  his  Church  is  before 
the  ApostoHc  Church.  He  says  they  got  their 
Church  dire(5l  from  Jesus  Christ.  He  says 
their  king  sent  a  message  to  Jesus  Christ,  and 
received  a  letter  in  reply  setting  forth  the 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  and  he 
laughs  to  scorn  all  our  pretensions  of  antiquity. 
His  is  the  true  and  ancient  Church  of  Christ  ? 
But  here  he  is.  He  is  to  hear  of  a  Church 
more  ancient  than  his,  the  Evangelical  Church, 
the  Church  which  Christ  and  His  apostles 
founded  in  deed  and  in  truth. 

On  the  right  hand  is  a  Bedouin  from  Pal- 
myra. He  had  a  blood  feud  with  some  of  his 
comrades,  and  they  shot  him  in  the  side.  The 
bullet  entered  the  chest.  An  untrained  native 
practitioner  there  very  rightly  wished  to  drain 
the  wound,  but  ver}-  unskilfully  rolled  up  a 
piece  of  rag  and  put  it  into  the  wound  to  keep 
it  open;  and,  as  he  did  not  take  care  to  prevent 
it  slipping  in,  it  slipped  in.  Then  the  next  day 
he  put  in  another,  and  that  also  slipped  in. 
Then  he  kept  on  putting  another  in  day  after 
day,  until  there  was  a  mass  there  as  big  as  my 

111-4. 


50  THE   MIRACI.es   OF   MISSIONS. 

fist.  The  poor  man  began  to  cough  and  grew 
thin,  and  he  almost  died.  They  heard  of  this 
hospital  in  Beirut,  and  they  heard  of  somebody 
who  dared  to  perform  operations  on  cases  like 
that.  They  brought  him  all  the  way  from 
Palmyra — it  is  four  days'  journey  from  Pal- 
myra to  Damascus,  and  three  days'  journey 
from  Damascus  to  Beirut.  They  brought  him 
on  a  camel  to  Damascus,  and  then  on  a  mule 
from  Damascus  to  Beirut.  I  laid  open  his 
side;  there  was  a  great  ghastly  wound.  I  took 
out  that  great  mass,  and  I  could  look  in  and 
see  the  adlion  of  his  lungs,  and  could  see  clear 
to  the  spinal  column.  That  man  has  got  well. 
People  held  it  to  be  a  miracle,  but  it  was  not 
a  miracle  of  mine,  but  a  miracle  of  modern 
science,  and  modern  science  is  a  miracle  of 
Christianity.  That  man  never  heard  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  before.  He  was  a  Bedouin 
Arab.  He  hardly  had  heard  of  Christ,  except 
in  terms  of  reproach.  But  he  sits  down  here 
to  hear  all  about  the  Gospel. 

Here  is  a  poor  woman.     She  can  not  sit  up, 
but  is  lying  on  a  bed,   and  has  been  brought 


IN  THE   ST.    JOHN   HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT.     5 1 

down  on  a  stretcher.  She  had  a  brute  of  a 
husband  who  struck  her  in  the  chest,  and  dis- 
ease of  the  bone  followed.  He  struck  her 
right  over  her  heart,  and  the  ribs  and  costal 
cartilages  were  affedled.  A  great  plate  of 
dead  bone  and  cartilage  had  to  be  removed, 
and  for  the  first  and  only  time  in  my  life  I 
looked  inside  a  woman's  heart.  I  laid  the 
four  fingers  of  my  hand  over  the  pericardium, 
and  felt  every  motion  of  the  mechanism  of  the 
heart — a  thing  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  before. 
She  got  well.  That  again  was  a  miracle,  not 
of  mine,  but  of  science,  and  of  Christianity, 
which  underlies  science.  She  is  here  to  hear 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

Shall  I  describe  them  all?  They  are 
gathered  from  Jerusalem,  from  Bagdad,  from 
Tuat  in  the  Great  Sahara,  from  Turkestan 
in  Central  Asia,  from  the  headwaters  of 
the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  from  every 
village  in  Lebanon,  from  Palestine,  from 
Cyprus,  from  Asia  Minor — they  are  gathered 
into  this  hospital,  and  there  they  receive  the 
gifts  of  healing.     Now  here  they  are,  gathered 


52  THE   MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

about  this  Christmas  tree,  with  these  sweet 
sisters,  like  presiding  angels,  going  to  and  fro 
among  them  ;  and  there  are  the  presents  on 
the  tree.  Each  one  has  a  garment  or  a  book, 
and  the  children  some  toys;  and  the  ginger- 
bread and  candy  and  oranges  are  not  forgotten. 
Everything  is  ready.  And  here  is  a  little 
choir  of  the  Deaconesses'  Orphan  School, 
which  is  just  down  the  street.  They  come  up 
every  Sunday  to  our  service,  and  at  the  time 
of  our  Christmas  tree  they  come  to  sing  to  us. 
They  open  the  book  and  sing  about  the 
child  Jesus.  Then  the  German  pastor  gets  up 
and  offers  a  prayer.  Then  the  English  pastor 
makes  some  remarks  to  the  audience  gathered 
about  him;  and  then  the  doctor,  who  has  stood 
by  their  side,  who  has  held  the  terrible  knife 
over  them — but  thanks  be  to  God  they  were 
under  the  influence  of  an  anesthetic  that 
robbed  it  of  its  terrors — and  who  has  stood  by 
their  bedside  and  watched  them  through  the 
crisis  of  the  fever,  and  who  has  smiled  as  he 
saw  returning  health  and  strength — he  stands 
now  before   them   to   preach    the   Gospel    of 


IN   THK  ST.    JOHN   HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT.     53 

Christ.  Christian  brethren,  I  do  not  believe 
in  letting  down  the  Gospel  to  anybody.  The 
IvOrd  Jesus  Christ  made  the  Gospel  as  simple, 
as  elementary,  and  as  possible  for  every  man  to 
accept  as  it  can  be  made,  and  if  we  present  it 
as  Jesus  gave  it  to  us  it  wall  go  home  to  the 
heart.  I  am  not  afraid  to  stand  up  before  that 
Mohammedan,  that  descendant  of  Saladin,  and 
preach  Christ  and  Him  crucified. 

Now  understand  one  thing,  that  under  no 
circumstances  can  a  missionary,  worthy  of  the 
name,  be  ever  induced  to  say  anj^thing  that 
would  wound  the  susceptibilities  or  grieve  the 
heart  of  one  of  his  heathen  or  Mohammedan 
auditors.  That  is  not  necessar3^  They  tell 
the  story  of  a  judge  in  Aleppo.  He  had  but 
one  eye.  A  person  was  condemned  to  prison, 
as  he  thought,  unjustly.  He  rose  before  the 
judge  and  said:  "  O,  one-eyed  judge,  I  am 
imprisoned  here  on  a  false  accusation;  and  I 
tell  you,  O,  one-eyed  judge,  that  this  man  who 
has  testified  against  me  has  received  a  bribe; 
andO,  one-eyed  judge,  if  I  do  not  get  justice,  I 
will  report  this  case  to  the  pasha;  and  if  the 


54  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

pasha  do  not  do  justice,  O,  one-eyed  judge,  I 
will  report  it  to  the  sultan  himself."  The 
judge  rose  from  his  seat  in  a  rage  and  said: 
"  Take  the  man  back  to  prison.  I  won't  hear 
him  plead  before  me  and  call  me  forever  a  one- 
eyed  judge."  Well,  we  never  go  to  these 
people  and  talk  to  them  about  the  ' '  false ' ' 
prophet.  That  is  not  the  way  to  begin.  We 
preach  Christ  and  Him  crucified.  Now  we 
have  a  great  substratum  of  common  thought 
and  feeling  with  these  people.  Remember 
that  that  sacred  Book  which  we  have  as  our 
title-deed  to  heaven  is  their  sacred  Book  too. 
In  a  hundred  places  in  the  Koran  Moham- 
medans are  told  that  they  must  revere  the 
Towrat  (Torah),  w^hich  is  the  law,  and  Zubar, 
which  is  the  Psalms,  and  includes  the  poetical 
and  historical  books,  and  the  Enjel,  which  is 
the  New  Testament  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  no 
matter  if  some  of  these  people  say  that  those 
books  have  been  interpolated  or  changed;  that 
we  need  not  concern  ourselves  with.  We  tell 
them  of  this  Torah  which  is  spoken  of  in  our 
Book.     We  open  it  before  them.    Besides  that, 


IN   THK  ST.    JOHN   HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT.     55 

' '  They  have  Abraham  to  their  father. ' '  That 
venerable  emir  traces  his  lineage  back  not  to 
Saladin  alone,  but  to  Abraham;  and  they  all 
hold  Abraham  and  Isaac  to  be  prophets,  and 
accept  all  the  prophets  of  the  old  dispensation; 
and,  furthermore,  they  hold  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
be  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  prophets.  They 
never  pronounce  his  name  without  saying, 
' '  Our  Lord  Jesus,  upon  Him  be  peace. ' ' 

We  open  that  book  and  begin  to  tell  them 
about  Father  Abraham.  I  tell  them  he  lived 
in  tents  just  as  some  of  them  live,  and  that  he 
went  to  and  fro  in  this  land  that  he  might  show 
the  people  that  he  had  no  abiding  place  here, 
but  looked  for  an  eternal  city  in  the  heavens. 
Then  I  tell  them  about  Father  David,  the  great 
prophet,  and  then  about  Seidna  Esa  (our  Lord 
Jesus).  And  I  tell  them,  "You  think  this 
hospital  was  built  b}^  the  order  of  St.  John 
from  Germany,"  and  I  say,  "  No;  it  was  built 
by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  heaven."  And 
I  go  on  and  tell  them  how  these  dodlors  never 
would  have  left  their  homes  but  for  the  love 
of  Christ,  and  I  ask  them:   "  Would  you  leave 


56  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

your  home,  would  you  leave  your  children, 
would  you  do  for  people  seven  thousand  or  ten 
thousand  miles  away,  what  is  being  done  for 
you  here  unless  you  had  a  motive  f or  it  ?  "  I 
say  to  them:  ' '  The  motive  is  the  love  of  Christ. 
Now  if  the  love  of  Christ  constrained  us  to 
come  to  you  and  give  ourselves  for  37'ou,  then 
you  owe  it  all  to  Christ,"  and  you  will  see 
tears  trickle  down  those  hardened  faces, 
and  you  will  see  those  forms  bowed  with 
emotion  as  the}^  hear  the  old,  old  stor}^  of  the 
Cross. 

I  will  draw  you  another  pidlure.  There  was 
a  Mohammedan  girl  who  came  under  my  care 
many  years  ago  for  a  disease  of  one  of  the 
bones  of  the  wrist,  and  a  portion  of  that  bone 
required  removal.  The  operation  was  suc- 
cessful, but,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  the  disease 
returned  in  the  elbow.  The  elbow- joint  was 
removed  and  with  the  best  of  results.  She 
was  able,  after  that,  to  pick  up  a  glass  of 
water;  she  was  able  to  use  her  hands  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  as  before,  with  a  little 
diminution    of   strength.     But  after  that  the 


IN   THE   ST.    JOHN   HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT.     57 

disease  reappeared   higher  up,  and  the  poor 
girl's  strength  was  sapped  little  by  little,  and 
not  long  before  I  came  away  from  Beirut  she 
was  lying  on  what  I  suppose  will  be  the  bed  of 
death.     I   visited   her  one   Sunday  afternoon 
with  my  wife,   and  we  sat  with  her,  and  we 
brought  that  little  choir   of  children    of  the 
Deaconesses,  and  they  sang  sweet  hymns  in  the 
corridor.     I  asked  her  if  she  would  like  to  have 
me  read  a  chapter  of  the  Scripture,  and  pray 
with  her,  and  she  said,  "  Yes."      I  opened  to 
the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah.     Her  name 
was  Fatima.      You  know  that  Fatima  was  the 
favorite   daughter    of   Mohammed,    and   that 
name  is  as  sweet  to  a  Moslem  as  Mary  is  to 
us.     I  said  to  her,  "  Fatima,  who  wrote  that 
chapter  ? ' '     She  closed  her  eyes  for  a  moment, 
and    then    opened    them  and   said,    "Allah," 
that  is,  God.      "  Well,"  I  said,  "about  whom 
did  he  wTite  that  chapter  ?  ' '     She  closed  her 
eyes  again,  and  a  sweet  smile  came  over  her 
face,  and  for  a  moment  she  did  not  answer.     I 
said,  "Fatima,  did  he  write  it  about  Moham- 
med?"     "No,"  said  she,  "  He  wrote  it  about 


58  THE   MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

Seidna    Esa  —  about    our   Lord   Jesus,    upon 
whom  be  peace." 

Twenty-three  years  ago,  in  1865,  the  cholera 
was  prevailing  in  Northern  Syria.  I  happened 
at  that  time  to  be  in  Mount  I^ebanon.  I  was 
studying  the  Arabic  language,  and  preparing 
myself  during  the  summer  for  greater  useful- 
ness when  I  should  return  to  my  mission  field 
in  the  autumn.  We  had  a  community  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  Protestants  in  the  city 
where  the  cholera  broke  out.  They  became 
alarmed,  and  they  sent  a  messenger  five  days' 
journey  with  a  note  saying,  '  *  Our  dear  do(5lor, 
the  cholera  has  broken  out  in  our  city,  and  we 
are  afraid  that  we  may  be  attacked.  Will  you 
please  send  us  a  bottle  of  medicine,  and  if  you 
can,  docflor,  will  you  come  yourself?  We  do 
not  ask  you  to  come  simply  because  the  cholera 
has  broken  out,  but  the  devil  has  got  in 
among  us,  and  we  are  in  a  quarrel  with  each 
other,  and  we  want  you  to  come  and  settle  it." 
Well,  you  may  be  sure  I  took  no  more  time  than 
was  necessary  to  despatch  that  messenger  with  a 
bottle  of  medicine  suitable  as  a  prophyladlic, 


IN   THE   ST.    JOHN    HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT.     59 

and  as  a  cure  for  cases  of  cholera,  with  the 
necessary  diredlions,  and  I  said  that  I  would 
follow  with  all  possible  haste.  I  took  with  me 
a  young  man  who  was  a  teacher  in  the  theo- 
logical seminary.  He  was  a  devout  young 
man,  and  I  took  him  in  order  to  have  the 
benefit  of  his  counsels  in  this  affair  with  the 
people.  He  was  not  a  physician.  Well,  we 
traveled  through  the  hot  days  of  August  over 
the  blazing  plain  of  Coele-Syria  five  days,  and 
we  reached  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  We 
encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  Orontes.  My 
companion  said  to  me,  "  Dodlor,  we  might  go 
in  there  to-night,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  some- 
thing: I  know  you  will  despise  me  for  it,  but  I 
am  afraid  of  the  cholera."  He  said,  "  I  mean 
to  go  into  that  city,  but  I  want  to  spend  this 
night  in  praj^er  and  fasting,  that  God  may 
give  me  strength."  I  said,  *' Why,  I  do  not 
despise  you,  I  honor  you;  I  know  that  fear, 
but  we  do(5lors  get  over  that.  I  do  not  despise 
you  because  you  have  that  fear. ' '  I  dare  say 
in  this  audience  I  could  pick  out  a  dozen  or 
twenty  people  who  would  be  afraid  to  go  in  a 


60  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

pest-stricken  city,  unless  they  spent  a  night 
in  prayer  to  God;  and  even  after  that  perhaps 
some  of  them  would  not  go  in.  ' '  Well, ' '  I 
said  to  him,  "if  3^ou  want  to  stay  two  days, 
stay. "  "  No, ' '  he  said,  ' '  I  will  stay  to-night, 
and  God  will  give  me  strength."  He  went 
into  his  tent.  He  took  no  dinner  that  night, 
but  spent  the  night  wrestling  on  his  knees.  I 
spent  that  night  in  sleep.  I  needed  the  sleep, 
and  I  was  not  afraid  of  the  cholera.  The 
next  morning,  when  I  woke  up  and  came  out 
of  my  tent,  I  found  that  3^oung  man  with  his 
face  glowing  like  the  face  of  an  angel.  I 
knew  that  the  struggle  was  all  over.  He  said, 
**Docl:or,  let  us  strike  our  tents  and  go  into 
the  city;  I  have  found  rest,  I  do  not  care  a 
particle  now  for  the  cholera;  I  am  ready  to 
go."  We  went  into  the  city,  and  were  met  by 
our  brethren  there.  We  saluted  them  and 
inquired  about  the  health  of  the  community, 
and  found  that  no  one  had  yet  been  stricken 
with  cholera.  We  commenced  then  on  the 
quarrel. 

Now,  here  I  will  show  you  how  the  medical 


IN   THE    ST.    JOHN    HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT.     6l 

missionary  has  a  hold  on  the  people.     They 
knew  we  had  come  a  five-days'  journey  into  a 
pest-stricken  city  from  a  sanitarium  where  the 
cholera  never  comes.     Now,  that  was  a  first- 
rate  granite  bed  on  which  to  build.     I  began 
by  taking  each  one  of  the  brethren  apart.     I 
said  to  one,  "Well,  brother,  what  is  the  mat- 
ter?"    He  said,    "Oh!  there  is  nothing  the 
matter  with  me,  but  Yusef  has  done  so  and 
so,"    speaking    of    another   of    the    brethren. 
Then  I  said,  "  If  Yusef  is  all  right,  you  are, 
are  you?"      "Oh!   yes,"   said  he;   "I   never 
did  anything;  I  have  not  done  anything  against 
him,   but   he  is  the  one  who   stirred  up  the 
trouble."      "Very  well;  now,  if  he  agrees  to 
be  reconciled,    do    you?"      "Yes,"    he  said. 
Then  I  read  the  Scripture  and  had  prayer  with 
him,  and  my  brother,  who  was  with  me,  also 
joined  in  this  exercise.     Then  we  called  for 
another.      ' '  Now  what  is  the  matter  with  you, 
Salem  ?  "      "  Oh !  "  he  said,  ' '  there  is  not  any- 
thing the  matter  with  me,  the  trouble  is  with 
Pharis;  he  is  the  one  that  made  the  trouble." 
"Well,"  I  said,  "if  Pharis  is  reconciled,  are 


62  THE    MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

you  all  right  ?  "  **  Yes;  there  never  was  any- 
thing the  matter  with  me. "  So  we  had  prayer 
with  him  and  read  appropriate  Scripture,  and, 
after  a  pleasant  remark,  he  went  away  and 
Pharis  came  in.  "Well,  Pharis,"  I  said, 
' '  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  "  "  Well, ' ' 
he  said,  "  there  is  this  other  brother  who  has 
caused  it,  I  have  not  done  anything  ;  "  and  I 
found,  to  ni)^  great  surprise,  that  there  was  not 
one  of  them  that  had  anything  against  any- 
body else,  but  every  one  knew  some  other  man 
who  was  the  one  that  stirred  up  the  whole 
trouble.  When  we  got  through  with  the 
whole  list,  and  had  been  assured  by  every  one 
of  them  that  he  was  ready  to  be  reconciled, 
we  called  them  all  together.  Mind  you,  they 
had  been  calling  each  other  devils  and  Judas 
Iscariots,  and  every  opprobrious  epithet  which 
Oriental  speech  contains.  We  got  them  to- 
gether and  read  over  appropriate  passages  of 
Scripture,  and  asked  this  and  that  brother  to 
lead  in  prayer,  and  then  asked  if  there  was 
anybody  in  that  company  that  had  anything 
against   anybody   else,   if  he  would   rise  and 


IN  THK  ST.    JOHN   HOSPITAL,    BEIRUT,     63 

State  it.  There  was  not  one  who  rose,  but 
every  one  of  them  was  melted  to  tears.  They 
knelt  down  there  and  poured  out  their  hearts 
to  God  in  prayer  and  in  thankfulness. 

Here  was  another  miracle  of  the  grace  of 
God.  I  do  not  mean  to  exaggerate  matters, 
but  it  was  a  very  strange  thing  that  not  one  of 
that  community  w^as  stricken  with  the  cholera. 
Is  it  too  much  for  the  power  of  God  that  He 
should  have  given  that  miracle  to  strengthen 
their  faith  ?  I  believe  you  will  say  with  one 
voice,  ' '  No. ' '  Not  one — father,  mother,  o^ 
child — of  all  that  community,  was  taken  with 
cholera,  although  funerals  were  passing  their 
door  every  hour  of  the  day.  We  left  them  in 
a  few  days  entirely  at  peace  with  one  another. 
They  went  out  with  us  as  far  as  the  Orontes, 
and  they  stood  with  us  on  the  bank  of  that 
river.  We  knelt  down  in  prayer  together,  and 
they  bade  us  ' '  Godspeed  ' '  on  our  w^ay . 

These,  said  Dr.  Post,  are  some  living  pic- 
tures of  what  medical  missions  can  do  and  are 
doing  in  heathen  lands. 


No.  IV. 

Work  Among  thk  Deep-sea  Fishermen.* 
wilfred  t.  grenfell, 

Superintendent  of  Royal  National  Mission,  etc. 

KBP-SEA  fishermen  come  from  va- 
rious sources,  the   majority  from 
workhouse-schools    and     orphan- 
ages, and  some  from  reformatories. 
Many  who  drift  into  the  fisheries  are  out-of- 


*  Deep-sea  fishermen  must  be  distinguished  from 
'longshoremen;  the  former  are  those  who  leave  home 
for  a  prolonged  period  of  time,  the  latter  go  out  for 
the  day  only,  and,  in  fishermen  parlance,  "have 
tea  alongside  o'  mother."  The  'longshoremen  are 
reached  by  all  the  various  ordinary  methods  of  our 
regular  churches,  the  deep-sea  men  are  not;  they 
live  at  sea  or  away  from  home,  and  they  are  outside 
the  reach  of  the  usual  shore  workers.  Some  idea  of 
the  extent  and  importance  of  the  British  fisheries 
maybe  seen  from  the  following  statistics:  Fish  land- 
ed annually  in  the  United  Kingdom,  13,996,000  cwts.; 
value,  about  $7,000,000;  men  and  boys  constantly 
engaged,  77,000;  men  and  boys  occasionally  engaged, 
44,000;  craft  over  fifteen  tons,  8,000;  craft  under  fif- 
teen tons,  14,000;  rowing  fishing  boats,  5,000. 

64 


WORK   AMONG   DKEP-SKA   FISHERMEN.     65 

work  laborers,  short-service  soldiers,  broken- 
down  mercantile  marine  sailors,  or  runaway- 
boys.  While  a  certain  percentage  are  sons  of 
fishermen,  who  are  unable  to  obtain  work 
ashore,  a  very  small  percentage  enter  the 
ranks  from  the  love  of  a  sea  life.  It  certainly 
has  little  to  recommend  it  besides  the  freedom 
from  shore  conventionalities,  and  the  possibil- 
ity of  earning  a  competency  of  about  ten  dol- 
lars a  week.  The  awful  monotony,  the  con- 
stant hardships,  and  frequent  perils  are  its 
greatest  drawbacks,  and  it  is  pathetic,  indeed, 
to  notice  how  few  old  men  one  meets  at  sea, 
and  how  many  old  fishermen  sink  into  poverty, 
and  end  their  days  in  the  workhouse.  Yet 
there  are,  to  my  mind,  many  less  joyful  call- 
ings in  life  than  that  of  the  deep-sea  fisher- 
men. Their  boyish  happiness  and  genial  fun, 
with  their  brave  hearts  and  kindly  generous 
natures,  are  proverbial  among  all  whose  priv- 
ilege it  is  to  live  among  them,  and  the  simple 
joys  of  the  happy  shore-homes  of  Christian 
fishermen  have  not  been  overdrawn  in  the 
many  romances  in  which  they  figure.     When 

III— 5. 


66  THB  miraci.es  of  missions. 

Christians  they  are  Englishmen  at  their  very 
best,  full  of  that  Viking  spirit  which  has  made 
great  the  sea-girt  isle  of  Britain.  With  stories 
of  their  strength,  daring,  generosity,  resource- 
fulness, and  self-sacrifice  even  to  death,  one 
could  fill  volumes. 

The  life  of  a  deep-sea  fisherman  in  the  North 
Sea  is  much  as  follows:  With  four  men  and  a 
boy  he  leaves  port  for  the  great  banks.  Over 
these  he  drags  his  huge  beam-trawl  day  and 
night  for  a  period  of  two  or  three  months. 
Then  he  returns  to  port  to  refit  and  gets  a  few 
days  rest,  after  which  he  is  off  to  sea  again. 
It  is  the  same  summer  and  winter,  all  the  year 
around — fighting  the  storms  at  sea,  and  send- 
ing his  fish  daily  to  London  or  Grimsby  by  a 
steam  fish-carrier.  His  vessel  is  a  unit  in  a 
large  fleet  of  one  hundred  similar  craft,  a  float- 
ing village  never  anchored,  and  never  all  home 
from  sea  at  one  time.  The  fleet,  presided  over 
by  a  fishing  admiral,  who  regulates  its  move- 
ments by  rockets  at  night  and  flags  by  day,  is 
now  off  the  coast  of  Holland,  now  off  the 
Danish   coast,    again   on    the    Dogger   bank, 


and  then  nearer  the  Norway  shore;  anywhere 
and  everywhere  the  fish  go,  they  go  too, 
reaping  the  harvest  of  the  sea  to  supply  our 
tables. 

The  fisherman's  dress,  consisting  of  a  blue 
Guernsey,  huge  leather  boots,  duffel  trousers, 
and  a  sou'wester,  with  an  oily  frock  for  bad 
weather,  combines  utility,  economy,  and  pic- 
turesqueness.  His  food  seldom  includes  fresh 
meat  and  vegetables,  but  the  daily  fresh  fish 
well  replaces  the  former.  Suet  pudding,  salt 
pork,  flour,  ''hard  tack,"  and  butter  are  the 
other  staples  of  diet,  while  the  teakettle,  ever 
filled,  is  always  ready  for  use. 

Besides  the  fishing  vessels  in  these  fleets, 
until  recently  only  one  other  kind  was  known. 
This  was,  like  themselves,  a  ketch  or  cutter, 
and  hailed  generally  from  a  Belgian  or  Hol- 
land port.  It  carried  no  net,  and  its  sides 
were  lined  with  puncheons  of  brandy,  whisky, 
gin,  and  rum.  Cheap  tobacco  was  used  as  a 
lure  to  entice  the  fishermen  to  visit  them,  and 
foul  literature  also  was  procurable  on  board. 
The   * '  schnapps  ' '  was  potent  and  fiery,   and 


68  TH^  MIRACLES  OF  MISSIONS. 

was  nicknamed  '  *  chained  lightning  ' '  by  some 
of  its  poor  vidlims;  needless  to  say  it  brought 
ruin  in  its  track,  and  not  seldom  led  to  watery 
graves.  Its  reflex  influence  was  sorely  felt 
ashore,  and  numbers  of  small  liquor  dens 
sprang  up  in  the  fishermen's  quarters  of  our 
coast.  The  return  of  once  loving  husbands 
and  fathers  was  dreaded  by  the  poor  wives  and 
children,  while  the  time  and  money  that 
should  have  been  spent  at  home  was  too  often 
wasted  in  drunken  debauches.  Spiritual  ad- 
vantages ashore  were  seldom  made  use  of  even 
by  those  men  who  abstained,  for,  being  weary, 
they  usually  stayed  at  their  homes  during  the 
few  days  on  land.  Deep-sea  fishermen  were 
thus  pradlically  outside  the  pale  of  the  church 
and  of  civilization. 

In  1 88 1  a  visit  was  paid  by  a  I^ondon  gen- 
tleman to  the  North  Sea,  the  outcome  of  which 
was  the  foundation  of  the  Mission  to  Deep-Sea 
Fishermen,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  to  the  fishermen  on  the 
North  Sea  and  elsewhere.  A  small  vessel 
named  the  Ensign  was  purchased  and  sent  to 


WORK   AMONG   DEEP-SEA    FISHERMEN.     69 

sea.  As  the  expense  of  sending  not  merely 
one  missionary  but  a  whole  crew  of  men  and 
a  ship  was  necessarily  involved,  she  carried  a 
trawl  net,  and  fished  for  her  living.  The 
scoffers  who  deigned  to  notice  her  departure 
prophesied  a  three  months'  existence  at  most, 
while  pot-house  wiseacres  gave  her  six  months 
to  find  out  that  North-Sea  fishermen  did  not 
want  missionaries,  and  would  prefer  to  keep 
their  grog  vessels.  God's  blessing,  however, 
rested  on  the  undertaking  from  the  very  first, 
and  instead  of  one  ship,  there  are  now  thirteen 
of  the  finest  vessels  afloat,  four  of  which  are 
hospital  ships,  and  two  small  steamers  doing 
similar  work  in  Labrador.  The  agents  of  the 
mission  are  now  at  work  among  fishermen 
in  England,  Holland,  Belgium,  Scotland,  Ire- 
land, Iceland,  and  Labrador.  The  skipper  of 
the  mission  vessel  is  the  only  regular  mission- 
ary employed,  the  council  believing  that  a 
simple,  earnest,  true-hearted  brother  fisherman 
would  be  used  of  God  to  the  conversion  of  his 
mates.  ' '  Follow  me  and  I  will  make  3'ou 
fishers  of  men,"  is  engraved  in  brass  on  every 


70  THE    MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

wheel.  Any  Christian  worker  approved  of  by 
the  council,  and  anxious  to  go  to  sea  among 
the  men  for  Christ's  sake,  has  always  been 
warmly  welcomed,  and  in  this  way  volunteers, 
lay  and  clerical,  male  and  female,  have  from 
time  to  time  been  constantly  at  sea.  But  the 
work  is  rough,  and  seasickness  is  so  common, 
that  only  those  in  robust  phj^sical  health  are 
advised  to  go  out. 

It  soon  became  apparent  to  those  interested 
in  the  mission  w^ork,  that  the  ph^^sical  needs  of 
the  men  at  sea  were  sadly  negledled ;  the  drink 
and  bad  literature  were  demoralizing  a  large 
number,  while  the  lack  of  a  substitute  for  the 
grog-shop  led  mau}^  to  visit  it  who  would  other- 
wise have  avoided  it.  It  became  distressingly 
apparent  that,  though  the  Gospel  was  making 
headway  and  a  few  men  had  found  Christ 
as  their  Savior,  the  devil's  chain  of  drink 
was  a  sore  hindrance  to  the  work.  It  was, 
therefore,  resolved  to  attack  the  enemy  in  his 
own  territory.  More  than  once  services  w^ere 
held  aboard  the  grog-ship,  and  one  captain 
gave  his  heart  to  God  and  left  the  trade.     But 


WORK   AMONG   DKEP-SEA   FISHERMEN.      7 1 

where  so  much  money  was  so  easily  to  be 
made,  the  devil  readily  found  tools  to  do  his 
work.  At  last  one  very  marked  case  brought 
things  to  a  climax.  A  young  husband  and 
father  went  aboard  a  grog- vessel  to  get  tobacco, 
though  a  total  abstainer,  with  the  result  that 
he  was  induced  to  stay  and  drink,  and  even- 
tually found  a  drunkard's  grave  the  same 
night. 

The  Christian  fishermen  thought  it  not 
wrong  to  smoke,  as  it  is  the  only  luxury  in  the 
hours  of  monotony  and  cold  which  is  possible 
for  them  to  enjoy.  The  mission,  therefore, 
applied  to  the  Board  of  Trade  for  leave  to  carry 
tobacco  in  bond,  that  they  might  undersell  the 
grog- vessel.  This  was  refused.  The  mission 
then  shipped  tobacco  to  Ostend  and,  there 
being  no  duty,  managed  to  sell  for  one  shilling 
what  cost  on  the  grog-vessel  eighteen  pence, 
at  the  same  time  assiduously  colleding  old 
literature,  pidlorial  and  otherwise,  and  storing 
their  vessels  with  that,  and  with  good  healthy 
tracts  and  books.  The  result  was  marvelous. 
In  five  years  the  whole  number  of  grog- vessels 


72  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

was  prac5lically  swept  from  the  face  of  the  sea. 
The  custom-house  officials  also  found  that  their 
fear  of  increased  smuggling  was  groundless, 
and  made  an  arrangement  with  the  mission  ( i ) 
to  ship  tobacco  in  bond,  (2)  to  issue  only 
limited  supplies  to  each  vessel.  The  men  have 
appreciated  the  boon,  and  a  very  large  diminu- 
tion in  the  cases  of  prosecution  for  smuggling 
has  followed.  The  end,  however,  was  more 
glorious  than  even  our  faith  anticipated.  The 
mission  kept  the  matter  before  the  authorities, 
and  in  January,  1895,  ^^  international  conven- 
tion was  signed  by  all  the  powers  bordering  on 
the  North  Sea,  absolutely  prohibiting  under 
the  heaviest  penalties  the  sale  of  liquor  to 
fishermen  at  sea.  With  the  death  of  the 
"  Coper  "  and  grog- traffic,  began  a  new  era  in 
the  homes  ashore.  No  less  than  25  dram- 
drinking  shops  closed  in  Great  Yarmouth  for 
want  of  custom.  Homes  which  had  been  dens 
of  poverty  and  wretchedness  became  little 
palaces.  Men's  wages  came  to  their  own 
families,  and  the  separate  individual  testimo- 
nies of  the  mayors  of  the  great  fishing  ports  of 


WORK    AMONG   DEEP-SEA   FISHERMEN.     73 

Hull,  Grimsby,  Lowestoft,  and  Yarmouth 
have  more  than  once  evinced  the  fadl  that 
the  fishermen's  quarters  of  these  towns 
had  become  quieter  and  more  orderly  —  a 
fadl  to  which  even  the  police  have  added  their 
san<flion. 

The  intense  cold  of  winter,  and  the  inade- 
quacy of  the  warm  clothes  with  which  the 
men,  and  especially  the  boys,  were  able  to 
provide  themselves,  next  claimed  attention, 
and  warm  hearts  of  Christian  ladies  all  over 
England  were  moved  by  the  tales  told  of  this 
great  need.  Hundreds  and  thousands  of  warm 
mittens,  helmets,  mufflers,  and  guernseys, 
have  been  sent  out  during  these  past  years, 
and  have  been  true  messages  of  love. 

'  *  Look  'ere, "  said  a  grizzled  skipper,  pulling 
out  three  mufflers  from  his  pocket,  to  three 
wild  friends  of  his  whom  he  was  visiting, 
"Look  'ere,  will  yer  admit  there's  love  in 
those  mufflers?  Yer  see  them  ladies  never 
see'd  yer,  nor  never  knowed  yer,  yet  they  jest 
sent  me  these  mufflers  for  you.  Well,  then, 
how  much  more  must  Christ  Jesus  'ave  loved 


74  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

yer,  when  He  give  His  life  blood  to  save 
yer." 

I  have  it  from  his  own  lips  as  well  as  one  of 
theirs,  that  this  was  the  beginning  of  leading 
those  three  men  to  God;  and  before  he  left  the 
ship  that  night,  they  were  trusting  in  Christ 
for  pardon,  and  for  strength  to  live  as  His 
children. 

Yet  another  need  became  now  apparent.  In 
pain,  in  sickness,  in  accident  even  unto  death, 
no  chance  of  skilled  aid  was  possible,  generally 
for  three  or  four  days,  often  for  a  week  or 
more.  Limbs  were  permanently  injured,  func- 
tions and  lives  lost,  and  families  driven  to  the 
workhouse  for  want  of  medical  aid.  It  was 
the  men  themselves  that  now  raised  the  diflS- 
culties. 

''Doctors!  I'd  like  to  see  one  on  'em  out 
'ere  a  voyage.  I  guess  a  week  o'  this  'ere 
weather  'd  capsize  any  on  'em." 

But  it  did  not.  In  the  true  spirit  of  Christ, 
our  Master,  the  mission  joined  "  Healing  the 
Sick"  to  "Preaching  the  Word."  In  four 
vessels  hospitals  were  built,  swing  cots  erected 


WORK   AMONG   DKKP-SEA   FISHERMEN.     75 

for  fracture  cases,  medicine  and  sets  of  instru- 
ments and  splints  obtained.  A  specially  de- 
vised stretcher  was  placed  on  each  ship  to 
facilitate  the  removal  of  the  injured  to  the 
hospital  ships.  Christian  doctors  were  regu- 
larly appointed  for  each.  "Heal  the  sick," 
in  letters  of  gold,  was  put  on  the  port  bow, 
and  ''Preach  the  Word,"  on  the  starboard. 
All  the  mission  skippers  and  mates,  and  many 
others  as  well,  were  trained  in  ambulance 
work,  and  now  one  and  all  are  capable  of  ren- 
dering first  aid  to  the  wounded,  by  which 
many  limbs,  lives,  and  much  suffering  have 
been  saved  on  the  vessels  where  there  is  no 
doctor. 

The  next  hindrance  the  mission  endeavored 
to  remove  was  the  great  difficulty  in  reaching 
the  crews  on  the  steam  trawlers  and  the  boys 
on  all  the  trawlers;  for,  of  course,  some  one 
must  remain  always  on  board,  and  this  gen- 
erally fell  to  the  lot  of  the  younger  hands, 
while  the  steam  trawlers  scatter  so  far,  and 
work  so  incessantly  that  it  is  only  on  rare 
occasions  that  the  missionary  can  reach  them. 


76  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

Accordingly  a  branch  called  the  '  *  Fisherlads 
Association,"  was  formed  for  corresponding 
with  all  that  could  be  reached  in  that  way. 
Most  marvelous,  indeed,  has  been  the  result  of 
this  venture  of  faith.  Some  800  ladies  are 
already  engaged  in  keeping  in  touch  with 
some  3,000  or  4,000  fishermen.  Only  those 
who  have  the  love  of  Christ  in  their  own  hearts 
are  invited  to  assist  in  this  way.  Most  in- 
tensely interesting  have  been  the  boys'  and 
men's  letters.  Many  have  taken  the  pledge 
(with  fishermen  total  abstinence  is  absolutely 
incumbent  on  the  converted  man) ,  and  many 
have  been  truly  led  to  Christ.  Never  till  one 
reads  some  of  their  letters,  can  he  realize  the 
absolute  friendlessness  of  many  of  the  men, 
some  saying,  ' '  I  never  had  a  father  or  mother 
or  home."  "No  one  ever  cared  for  me,  that 
I  know  of, ' '  and  * '  I  never  had  a  letter  in  my 
life."  This  has  led  to  many  of  our  ladies 
visiting  the  ports  from  which  their  boys  sail, 
and  thus  not  only  benefiting  others  but  being 
benefited  themselves,  by  taking  up  acflual 
personal  work    for   Christ,    and  learning    to 


WORK   AMONG   DEKP-SKA   FISHERMEN.     77 

plead  for  Him  with  individuals,  "  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God  as  dear  children." 

Another  branch  formed  has  been  the  regular 
visiting  by  Christian  workers  of  the  sick  and 
injured,  and  almost  always  lonely  and  friend- 
less fishermen,  brought  by  the  steam  carriers 
to  the-  great  metropolitan  hospitals;  and  most 
deeply  do  they  appreciate  this  truly  Christ- 
like work.  God  has  allowed  the  workers 
to  see  direc5l  fruits  of  their  labors  in  this 
branch  also,  and  to  see  dying  fishermen  re- 
joicing in  the  sure  and  certain  hope  of  ever- 
lasting life. 

In  the  fall  of  1895  definite  work  ashore  in 
Grimsby  and  Great  Yarmouth  was  recognized 
to  be  necessary  by  the  mission  council.  A 
United  Fishermen's  Christian  Association  was 
started  with  the  inevitable  badge — in  this  case 
a  fish  with  the  word  *'IX0r2,"^^  on  it.  A 
most  suitable  emblem,  and  one  I  rejoice  to  say 
now  rapidly  being  adopted  by  all  our  Chris- 
tian brethren  at  sea. 


*  Initials  of  a  Greek  sentence:   "  Jesus  Christ,  Son 
of  God,  Savior." 


78  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

I  must  pass  over  the  work  in  Ireland,  and 
among  the  drift-net  men  and  others  off  the 
Cornish  coast.  Five  years  ago  it  was  my  priv- 
ilege to  sail  a  mission  vessel  from  Yarmouth, 
England,  to  Labrador.  There  we  have  built 
two  hospitals,  200  miles  apart,  each  with  a 
medical  mission  and  Christian  matron.  Each 
is  served  by  a  small  steamer,  bringing  the  sick 
to  and  fro.  In  the  small  steamer  Sir  Donald, 
we  range  the  coast  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  I^aw- 
rence  to  Cape  Chilsey  in  Hudson  Straits, 
preaching,  do(5loring,  and  trying  to  help  the 
people  from  May  to  December.  One  dodlor 
and  one  nurse  stay  through  each  long  winter, 
keeping  the  hospitals  open,  teaching  the 
children,  preaching  when  possible,  and  travel- 
ing from  place  to  place  with  dogs  and  sleighs. 
In  summer  we  have  some  23,000  men,  women, 
and  children,  besides  the  five  thousand  resi- 
dents of  the  coasts.  We  visit  the  Eskimo  and 
Moravian  stations,  where  we  enjoy  the  spiritual 
fellowship  of  the  devoted  missionaries.  No 
happier  lot  ever  fell  to  any  man  than  ours. 
Navigating,    doc5loring,    preaching,    entrusted 


WORK   AMONG  DEEP-SEA   FISHERMEN.     79 

with  clothes  for  the  naked  and  food  for  the 
hungry,  we  live  healthy,  joyful  lives.  God 
has  privileged  us  to  see  many  yield  their  hearts 
and  lives  to  Christ.* 


*(i)  We  endeavor  not  to  pauperize  the  recipients  of 
food  or  clothing,  and  to  preserve  their  self-respect, 
by  in  every  case  providing  work,  if  possible,  where 
assistance  is  given.  (2)  Our  mission  is  inter-denom- 
inational. (3)  We  have  treated  170  in-patients  in  Lab- 
rador and  6,500  out-patients.  This  represents  a  sa- 
ving of  no  little  suffering  and  not  a  few  lives.  Con- 
tributions to  this  work  may  be  sent  to  the  editor  of 
this  Review. 


No.  V. 
Th^  Founding  of  the  Barotsi  Mission.* 

BW,  among  all  the  narratives  of 
missionary  labor  in  the  last  half 
century,  are  more  worthy  of  a  per- 
manent memorial  than  what  is 
known  as  the  story  of  the  "  Banyai  Mission," 
which  eventually  led  to  the  founding  of  the 
Barotsi  Mission,  and  which  was  not  only  un- 
dertaken, but  planned  by  the  native  Christians 
of  Basutoland.  Our  friend,  M.  Coillard,  of 
the  French  mission,  emphatically  says  that  if 
Africa  is  ever  to  be  evangelized,  it  must  be 
done  by  her  own  children.  This  is  the  testi- 
mony of  all  missionaries,  and  of  its  truth  this 
attempt  of  the  native  Christians  of  the  Basuto 
country  is  both  an  argument  and  an  illustra- 
tion. 

Three  French  missionaries  came  to  Basuto- 

*  A  fuller  account  is  beautifully  set  before  us  in 
that  most  readable  book  of  M.  Coillard,  "On  the 
Threshold  of  Central  Africa." 

80 


FOUNDING   OF    THE    BAROTSI    MISSION.      8 1 

land  more  than  sixty-six  years  ago,  in  1833, 
and  among  them  the  name  of  M.  Arbousset 
stands  out  conspicuous.  M.  Coillard  says  of 
him,  that  "he  belonged  to  the  race  of  giants, 
whose  exploits  in  the  first  half  of  the  century 
have  shed  such  luster  on  African  missions." 
He  possessed  two  gifts  of  great  importance  to 
his  work:  First,  the  gift  of  evangehzing,  and 
second,  the  gift  of  communicating  his  own  zeal 
to  those  who  were  brought  to  Christ  through 
his  instrumentality.  It  is  very  noticeable  that 
a  large  proportion  of  his  congregations  and 
converts  were  men,  and  that  each  of  them, 
according  to  his  own  measure  of  capacity,  took 
a  share  in  the  adtive  propagation  of  the  Gospel. 
M.  Arbousset  was  accustomed  to  send  his  cate- 
chists  on  excursions  to  spend  an  indefinite  time 
among  the  people  in  the  country  now  known 
as  the  Transvaal.  Some  of  these  traveling 
catechists  had,  before  their  conversion,  been 
noted  warriors,  and  had  made  depredations 
upon  the  same  tribes  to  whom  now  they  bore 
the  Gospel  of  peace  as  a  kind  of  atonement 
for  previous  acfts  of  violence.     In  1863  one  of 


82  THE   MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

these,  Isaiah  Seeley,  went  with  the  sanaion  of 
all  the  missionaries.  He  was  a  man  of  much 
intelligence  and  strength  of  characfter,  and 
spoke  French  and  English  as  well  as  several 
native  languages,  and  had  no  little  knowledge 
of  the  healing  art.  He  spent  several  years 
evangelizing  certain  tribes,  among  whom  the 
Berlin  Society  of  Missions  has  since  been  labor- 
ing successfully,  and  many  of  whom,  being 
accustomed  to  pass  through  Basutoland,  going 
to  and  from  Cape  Colony,  had  seen  something 
of  the  benefits  of  Christian  missions,  so  that 
their  chiefs  became  desirous  of  permanent  sta- 
tions in  their  own  country.  The  wars  between 
the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Basutoland 
checked  this  evangelizing  movement. 

In  1865  all  the  French  Protestant  mission- 
aries were  driven  out  of  the  country,  the  only 
exception  being  at  Thabe  Bossiou,  which  the 
Boers  had  not  been  able  to  occupy.  Armed 
men  brought  wagons  to  the  door  of  M.  Coil- 
lard,  and  carried  the  missionaries  off  in  such 
haste,  that  his  wife  had  not  even  time  to  take 
her  bread  out  of  the  oven  ;  and  with   heavy 


FOUNDING   OF   THE    BAROTSI   MISSION.     83 

hearts  they  left,  the  church-bell,  which  they 
carried  with  them,  sounding  all  along  the  road 
a  kind  of  funeral  knell.     The  commandant, 
who  happened  to  be  a  personal  friend  of  M. 
Coillard,    tried   to  cheer  them  up,  but  could 
encourage  them  with  no  hope  of  their  return. 
He  said,  "Make  the  best  of  it  and  leave  noth- 
ing behind  you,  for  you  will  never  come  back 
here;"    but   the   Divine   Master  had   decreed 
otherwise,   for  in   1868  Basutoland  became  a 
British  colony,  and  they  did  go  back,  having 
meanwhile  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  Zulu 
language,  which  was  in  later  days  to  prove  of 
great  service. 

God  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him. 
During  this  banishment  of  their  pastors  from 
the  Basutoland,  these  native  Christians  so 
awoke  and  arose  to  a  sense  of  their  individual 
duty  and  responsibility,  that  with  rare  zeal 
they  gave  themselves  up  to  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel.  So  large  were  the  results,  that, 
on  the  return  of  the  missionaries,  instead  of 
finding  their  v/ork  in  a  state  of  decay,  they 
found  the  community  completely  transformed, 


84  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

and,  instead  of  a  desert,  a  well- watered  garden. 
It  was  plain  to  them  that  the  first  thing  to  be 
done  was  to  give  compac5lness  and  solidity  to 
this  movement  by  a  more  thorough  organiza- 
tion. They  therefore  chose  those  native  Chris- 
tians who  seemed  to  be  most  capable  and  most 
worthy,  and  placed  them  at  different  points  as 
evangelists,  covering  Basutoland  with  a  net- 
work of  stations,  which  have  gone  on  multi- 
plying ever  since  year  by  year. 

And  now  came  the  next  and  most  natural 
step — the  Christian  life  of  these  native  disci- 
ples having  grown  so  strong,  they  desired  to 
spread  the  name  of  Jesus  in  the  regions  beyond. 
The  tree  had  so  grown  as  to  bear  fruit  after  its 
own  kind.  M.  Mabille,  who  had  succeeded 
Arbousset,  encouraged  this  missionary  move- 
ment. These  native  disciples  yearned  to  send 
catechists  to  other  heathen  tribes,  and  not  only 
to  setid  but  to  equip  and  viaintai7i  them;  and 
thus  the  Banyai  expedition  was  born.  The 
question  was — In  what  dire(5lion  should  these 
efforts  be  made?  M.  Mabille,  accompanied  by 
M.  Berthoud,  went  on  an  exploring  tour  in 


FOUNDING    OF   THE   BAROTSI   MISSION.     85 

the  extreme  north  of  the  Transvaal,  and  left 
the  Basuto  catechist  among  the  Magivamba 
tribe,  where  others  afterward  joined  them,  and 
where  a  work  of  perseverance  and  devotion  has 
been  carried  forward  with  much  fruitfulness. 
A  year  or  two  later,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
the  Basuto  catechists — Asher  by  name — under- 
took a  missionary  exploration  in  Banyai  with 
three  others.  He  was  a  very  remarkable  man, 
had  the  spirit  of  a  true  pioneer,  and  was  not 
easily  to  be  hindered  or  turned  back.  He 
gave  as  his  report  that  three  of  the  great  chiefs 
gave  glad  and  full  assent  to  the  coming  of  the 
missionaries,  and  had  even  chosen  sites  for  the 
stations.  He  said  that  some  of  the  Banyais 
had  found  a  striking  analogy  in  the  Gospel 
message  to  one  of  their  old  traditions — that 
the  son  of  one  of  their  great  chiefs  had  mys- 
teriously disappeared,  and  that  every  tenth 
day  must  be  observed  in  his  memory  until  he 
should  come  back. 

When,  in  1875,  Asher  came  back  to  Basuto- 
land,  his  report  fanned  the  zeal  of  his  fellow 
native  Christians  into  a  flame.     He  was  full  of 


86  THE   MIRACI.ES   OF   MISSIONS. 

Apostolic  devotion.  Said  he,  "Why  could  I 
not  cut  off  my  arms  and  legs  and  make  every 
limb  of  mine  a  missionary  to  these  poor 
Banyais  ?' '  His  addresses  had  an  eledlric  effedl. 
At  one  memorial  meeting  an  old  man  rose  and 
said,  * '  We  have  had  enough  of  talking,  let  us 
do  something,"  and  going  up  to  the  com- 
munion table,  he  laid  upon  it  a  half  crown; 
the  whole  assembly  followed  this  example,  and 
the  movement  spread  to  other  stations.  On 
one  communion  day  men,  women,  and  children, 
and  even  babes  at  their  mother's  breast  gath- 
ered round  the  table  to  laj^  upon  it  their  con- 
secrated offerings,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
;^50o  was  raised  among  these  native  converts 
in  cash,  without  counting  numbers  of  cattle, 
great  and  small.  The  Missionary  Conference 
could  no  longer  hesitate,  and  the  mission  was 
unanimously  determined  upon.  The  money 
and  the  men  were  at  once  found,  and  four  men 
were  chosen,  who  prepared  to  start  with  their 
families. 

God  has  His  set  time  for  blessing,  and  while 
these  events  were  taking  place.  Major  Malan, 


FOUNDING  OF  THE)   BAROTSI   MISSION.     87 

— whose  name  is  so  fragrant  in  Britain  and  in 
South  Africa,  the  grandson  of  Caesar  Malan 
of  Geneva,  and  a  man  who  had  resigned  his 
commission  in  the  British  Army  that  he  might 
more  completely  serve  the  Captain  of  our  sal- 
vation,— had  undertaken  a  tour  among  the 
South  African  missions,  and  his  coming  to 
Basutoland  was  the  signal  for  a  fresh  reviving. 
Even  to  M.  Mabille  and  M.  Coillard  it  proved 
more  than  a  spiritual  feast,  a  revelation.  M. 
Coillard  says  they  '  *  had  a  vision  of  the  Lord. ' ' 
It  seemed  to  them  that  they  had  never  given 
themselves  up  to  God,  and  did  not  even  know 
the  A  B  C  of  renunciation;  and  they  saw  that 
a  true  and  full  consecration  is  not  a  mere 
do<5lrine,  nor  yet  a  single  isolated  adl,  but  the 
fabric,  the  very  principle  of  life.  One  day 
in  crossing  the  river  Kei,  and  climbing  the 
slope,  in  obedience  to  an  impulse  that  was 
irresistible,  he  says,  ' '  We  all  three  sprang 
from  our  horses,  knelt  in  the  shadow  of  a 
bush  I  still  see  before  me,  and,  taking  our- 
selves as  witnesses,  offered  ourselves  indi- 
vidually to  the  Lord  for  the  new  mission — an 


88  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

adl  of  deep  solemnity  which  made  us  all 
brothers  in  arms.  Immediately  we  remounted, 
Major  Malan  spurred  his  horse,  galloped  up 
the  hill  and  called  out,  '  Three  soldiers  ready 
to  conquer  Africa. '  This  marked  a  new  era  in 
our  Christian  life,  and  was,  so  far  as  we  were 
concerned,  the  true  origin  of  the  Barotsi  Mis- 
sion. ' ' 

The  history  of  this  mission  we  can  not  here 
trace.  It  had  its  trials,  but  amid  them  all 
there  was  exemplified  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints.  A  few  fadls  only  may  be  added  to 
make  this  brief  sketch  complete.  In  the  autumn 
of  1875,  the  Banyai  expedition  was  preparing 
to  start.  It  was  at  first  intended  to  send  the 
native  missionaries  alone,  but  the  Transvaal 
government  opposed  this,  on  the  ground  that 
the  Basuto  natives  going  as  foreigners  among 
the  Banyai,  might  stir  up  trouble  on  their 
northern  frontiers.  It  seemed  necessary  that 
one  of  the  missionaries  should  escort  them,  and 
it  was  finally  determined  that  this  representa- 
tive should  be  M.  Diertelen,  a  newly  arrived 
missionary,  young,  unmarried,  and  as  yet  not 


FOUNDING   OF    THE    BAROTSI    MISSION.     89 

located,  whose  charac?ter,  gifts,  and  consecra- 
tion inspired  great  confidence. 

In  1876,  at  the  General  Synod,  78  delegates, 
besides  missionaries  and  catechists,  represented 
the  various  congregations,  and  subscription-, 
brought  from  a  wider  constituency  emphasized 
their  messages  of  encouragement  and  affedlion. 
Even  heathen  chiefs  could  not  remain  in- 
different to  such  a  demonstration,  and  the 
British  authorities  of  the  country  brought  also 
their  congratulations  and  good  wishes.  It 
seemed  as  though  God  had  opened  the  way, 
and,  after  many  deeply  impressive  meetings, 
M.  Diertelen  and  his  four  companions  with 
their  families,  were  affedlionately  sent  forth  as 
pioneers,  and  commended  to  the  keeping  of 
the  Lord.  The  very  place  of  farewell  was 
one  from  which  in  previous  days  cannibals  had 
gone  forth  to  scour  the  country,  and  from 
w^hich  had  gone  the  head  of  his  clan,  the  chief 
Sebetoane,  to  found  the  Makololo  kingdom  on 
the  Upper  Zambesi .  Survivors  of  those  former 
days  were  present  to  see  their  fellow-country- 
men sent  forth  by  their  native  Christians  with 


90  the;  miracles  of  missions. 

their  free-will  offerings  on  a  mission  of  peace. 
It  was  an  obje<5l  lesson  that  carried  a  con- 
vincing power  with  it. 

As  we  have  said,  trials  awaited  the  found- 
ing of  the  new  mission.  Scarcely  a  month 
later,  the  expedition  came  to  an  abrupt  end  in 
the  prison  of  a  civilized  and  Christian  state. 
These  pioneers  were  arrested,  taken  to  Pre- 
toria, and  imprisoned,  accused  of  carrying 
contraband,  and  heavily  fined,  but  afterward 
released.  This  persecution  proved  to  be  the 
work  of  a  small  political  clique,  hostile  to 
foreign  missions,  but  it  put  a  check  upon  the 
movement.  Nevertheless  the  enterprise  was 
not  abandoned,  and  the  Transvaal  government 
managed  to  let  the  missionaries  know  indi- 
redlly,  that  they  would  place  no  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  a  new  expedition,  provided  that 
certain  conditions  and  formalities  were  ob- 
sen^ed.  Difficulties  were  met  cheerfully  and 
heroically — difficulties  that  can  only  be  appre- 
ciated by  those  who  read  the  650  pages  of  M. 
Coillard's  remarkable  narrative,  in  which  he 
says    that,    notwithstanding    all    the    trials, 


FOUNDING   OF   THE    BAROTSI   MISSION.     9I 

dangers,  and  disappointments  of  their  work, 
God  never  left  them  for  an  hour  without  the 
consolation  of  His  promises  and  His  presence. 
There  is  seldom  found  any  book  that  contains 
more  evidence  of  moral  heroism  and  undis- 
couraged  faith,  than  this  narrative. 

One  facft  deserves  great  stress,  namely,  that 
this  mission  sprang  spontaneously  from  the  re- 
ligious life  of  the  native  Christians  of  Basuto- 
land;  and  the  disposition  exhibited  by  these 
native  disciples  puts  to  shame  the  churches  of 
Christ  in  Christian  lands.  When,  for  instance, 
in  1883,  M.  Coillard  preached  at  the  church  of 
M.  Mabille,  the  latter  said  to  him  as  he  entered 
the  pulpit:  ''Speak,  and  the  Lord  bless  thee, 
and  if  the  best  of  my  catechists  responds  to  your 
appeal,  I  give  him  gladly. ' '  When  the  service 
was  ended,  he  said:  "Yes,  Boillard,  God  has 
asked  for  my  best  catechist.  I  did  not  expe(5l 
it,  but  he  shall  go."  And  from  that  time 
forth  the  evangelists  of  the  Zambesi  Mission 
were  recruited  almost  altogether  from  his 
church  or  Bible  school. 

This  remarkable  missionary  story  illustrates 


92  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

to  a  marked  degree,  first,  the  blessed  results 
whicli  follow  missions  even  among  the  tribes 
of  the  Dark  Continent;  and  secondly,  the 
method  in  which  Africa  is  finally  to  hear  the 
Gospel.  The  work  of  the  missionaries  from 
other  lands  is  only  that  of  pioneers,  and  its 
province  is  to  develop  a  native  church  with  a 
native  ministry.  When  this  preliminary  stage 
has  been  reached  and  accomplished,  the  work 
of  Africa's  evangelization  may  be  safely  left 
to  the  Africans  themselves;  and  then  that  great 
problem  which  has  been  so  difficult  to  solve 
— *'  What  shall  we  do  in  the  face  of  the  fatal 
African  fever?" — will  have  been  effectually 
and  finally  solved.  But  there  must  be,  mean- 
while, an  experience  of  self-sacrifice,  and  lives 
must  be  laid  down  and  become  the  seed  of  the 
Kingdom  in  the  soil  of  Africa.  And  so  our 
Lord's  words  shall  have  a  wider  fulfilment: 

' '  Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone:  but  if  it  die, 
it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit." 

.May  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  be  found 
equal  to  the  sacrifice! 


No.  VI. 

Among  the  Red  Men  of  North  America.* 

by  rev.  egerton  r.  young. 

"  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be 
glad  for  them;  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice,  and  blos- 
som as  the  rose." — Isaiah  xxxv  :  i. 

HK  prophet  is  looking  down  to  the 
time  when  changes  will  be  made 
in  moral  wastes,  such  as  our  fore- 
fathers accomplished  on  this  con- 
tinent when  they  changed  the  great  forests 
into  these  splendid  farms  and  beautiful  home- 
steads. Similar  transformations  will  be  wrought 
in  Christ's  kingdom.  ' '  The  eyes  of  the  blind 
shall  be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall 
be  unstopped.  Then  shall  the  lame  leap  as  an 
hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing;  for  in 
the  wilderness  shall  waters  break  out,  and 
streams  in  the  desert."     Those   same   trans- 


*See    the    Northfield  Echoes,    August    Conference 
Number,  1896. 

93 


94  'THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

formations,  which  have  been  seen  in  missionary- 
work  in  towns  and  cities  at  home,  the  mission- 
aries have  been  permitted,  under  God's  bless- 
ing, to  see  in  the  lands  of  paganism. 

We  labored  among  the  wild  Indian  tribes 
away  up  in  the  heart  of  the  British  territories, 
a  thousand  miles  north  of  St.  Paul.  They 
were  the  most  northern  tribes  of  Indians  on  the 
borderland  of  the  Esquimaux  people,  away 
from  civilization,  so  far  away  that  the  nearest 
post-office  was  four  hundred  miles  distant;  we 
received  our  daily  paper  there  twice  a  year. 
We  found  hundreds  of  Indians  wandering 
through  those  vast  forests  as  hunters  and 
fishermen.  They  lived  in  a  land  so  remote 
from  cultivation  that  the  word  * '  bread  ' '  was 
literally  unknown  in  those  days,  and  the  peti- 
tion, *'  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  had 
to  be  translated,  ' '  Give  us  something  this  day 
to  keep  us  in  life."  I  have  seen  Indians 
eighty  years  of  age  who  never  saw  a  loaf  of 
bread,  or  a  cake,  or  a  pie.  When  my  wife  and 
I  went  out  there  we  lived  as  they  did;  we  lived 
on  fish  twentv-one  times  a  week  for  months 


AMONG  RED  MEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.     95 

together,  and  for  weeks  together  we  did  not 
average  two  good  meals  a  day.  For  years  we 
did  not  begin  to  live  as  well  as  the  thieves  and 
murderers  in  the  penitentiaries  of  Great  Britain 
and  America.  But  it  was  a  blessed  work,  and 
we  v/ere  happy  in  it. 

We  have  the  Bible  translated  for  our  In- 
dians; it  is  the  work  of  one  of  our  mission- 
aries, Rev.  James  Evans,  who  invented  what 
are  known  as  the  Syllabic  charac5lers.  He 
found  these  people  wandering  on  the  borders 
of  the  Great  Lakes  and  rivers,  fishing,  hunt- 
ing in  the  vast  forests  for  bears  and  other  ani- 
mals, and  looking  all  the  time  for  game,  as 
they  were  ever  on  the  go.  The  thought  oc- 
curred to  him  to  invent  a  simple  way  of  teach- 
ing these  Indians  to  read,  so  that  they  might 
be  able  to  use  the  Bible  for  themselves.  The 
result  of  it  was  this  invention,  each  charadler 
being  a  syllable, — in  all  thirty-six  of  them. 
They  are  represented  in  the  accompanying  cut, 
which  gives  both  the  Indian  charac5lers  and  the 
English  sounds.  As  soon  as  the  charaders 
were   grasped  we    used   to   turn    to    the   first 


96  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

chapter  of  Genesis,  and  begin  to  read.  Now, 
I  want  to  paint  a  pi(5lure,  to  take  you  with  me 
to  a  band  that  has  never  seen  a  missionary, 
never  seen  a  Bible,  never  heard  the  Savior's 
name,  and  I  want  to  show  you  how  we  teach 
them  to  read  on  a  first  visit,  which  lasts  only 
a  few  weeks.  We  have  no  schoolhouse,  no 
school-books,  no  pencils  or  paper.  We  have 
only  a  few  Bibles,  which  that  magnificent 
society  (the  British  Bible  Society)  now  sends 
out  to  us.  After  I  have  preached  to  them 
for  some  days,  and  have  gained  the  good 
will  of  most  of  them,'^^  I  say,  "Would  you 
not  like  to  learn  to  read  this  book  ?  "  "  Yes. ' ' 
I  can  not  go  and  get  a  sheet  of  paper,  vSlate 
and  pencil,  and  begin  teaching  them,  but  here 
are  great  granite  rocks  near  by,  and  I  take  a 
burned  stick  from  my  camp  fire,  and  with  that 
burned  stick  I  make  the  characfters  shown  in 
the  cut:  a,  e,  oo,  ah,  ma,  me,  moo,  mah,  etc. 
Then  I  say  to  the  people,  * '  Now  say  as  I  do, " 


*The  old  conjurers  hate  me  because  they  know 
that  my  success  means  the  end  of  their  terrible  rule 
over  the  people. 


AMONG  RED  MEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.     97 

and  just  as  a  primar}^  teacher  gives  a  lesson  to 
little  children  in  A,  B,  C,  so  I  begin,  "a,  e, 
00,  AH,  MA,  ME,  MOO,  MAH."  By  and  by  a 
fellow  gets  out  his  flint  and  steel,  lights  his 
pipe,  and  repeats,  A,  E,  oo,  ah;  but  I  can't 
say  anything  against  the  pipe,  for  one  dare 
not  be  cross  with  them.  We  go  over  it  again 
and  again;  I  point  to  the  letters  in  turn  and 
say,  '  *  What  is  this  ? ' '  They  are  unknown 
sounds  to  them,  but  I  write  down  a  charadler 
and  ask,  "What  is  that?  "  They  look  at  it 
and  shout,  "ma."  I  put  down  another,  and 
ask,  "What  is  that?"  "ne."  I  write  a 
third:  "What  is  that?^"  "too."  I  have 
written  the  word  in  Indian — Ma-?ii-too — three 
chara(5lers,  but  I  have  not  combined  them 
yet,  and  they  don't  know  w^hat  they  will 
form  in  combination.  I  sa}-,  "What  is  the 
first?"  "MA."  "The  second?"  "ne." 
' '  The  third  ?  "  "  too  . ' '  Then  they  combine 
them — Manitoo.  Why ! — they  drop  their  pipes 
and  put  up  their  hands,  and  open  their  eyes  in 
wonder.  It  is  w^orth  starv^ation  and  suffering, 
it  is  worth  any  amount  of  hardship,  to  see  the 

111-7. 


98  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

ray  of  intelligence  darting  into  the  eyes  of 
hundreds  of  these  Indians,  as  for  the  first 
time,  God,  the  name  of  God,  becomes  visible 
to  their  eyes  there  on  the  rock,  made  with  a 
burned  stick  from  the  camp  fire.  Manitoo — 
God.  They  have  heard  him  in  the  thunder, 
in  the  blizzard,  and  in  the  storm.  But  to 
them  here  is  a  new  revelation.  There  is  Mani- 
too on  the  rock,  and  they  can  hardly  believe 
their  eyes.  Then,  when  the  excitement  is 
over,  I  write:  Maiiitoo  Sa-kee-e-wd-wmd^  "God 
is  love, ' '  and  that  is  a  revelation.  So  I  go  on, 
and  on,  and  on;  no  more  smoking  pipes.  Most 
intense  interest  is  excited,  and  we  talk  and 
talk  until  my  mouth  is  dry  and  my  strength 
exhausted,  and  then  we  go  off  and  sit  around 
our  camp  fires  and  have  something  to  eat,  and 
come  back  again. 

In  less  than  three  weeks  some  of  those  In- 
dians can  read  the  Word  of  God  ia  their  own 
language.  Just  as  soon  as  these  chara(5lers 
and  some  simple  sentences  have  become  famil- 
iar to  them,  we  turn  to  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Indi:::i  Bible,  and  with  those  chara(5lers  on  the 


AMONG  RED  MEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.     99 

rock,  we  begin:  ''Ma  zua  che  misttirn  ne  sa 
Manitoo.''  "See  God  in  the  book  just  as  He 
is  on  the  rock,"  they  say.  They  catch  the 
idea  at  once.  Thus  slowly  we  go  through  the 
verse.  ' '  In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth."  To  a  people  that 
have  .been  in  darkness  and  ignorance  there  is 
a  lot  of  information  in  that  first  verse.  ' '  Who 
put  those  vStars  in  the  sky;  who  caused  the 
warm  sun  to  greet  the  eyes  and  fill  up  our 
creeks  with  fish  again  ? ' '  Thus  had  they 
talked  as  they  groped  in  darkness.  ' '  Now  we 
know:  '  In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth.'  "  Some  of  them 
thought  their  education  was  complete  at  once, 
— they  knew  all  about  it  now,  and  I  have 
known  a  boy  to  jump  up  and  run  away  six 
miles  and  bring  his  father,  pulling  him  along 
to  show  him  the  book  which  tells  how  those 
things,  talked  about  by  their  old  people  before^ 
the  camp  fires,  had  been  accomplished.  In 
some  of  our  villages  eighty  per  cent,  of  our 
people  over  eight  years  of  age  are  now  reading 
in  their  own  tongue  the  blessed   Book.     In 


lOO  THK   MIRACLES   OP    MISSIONS. 

spite   of  many   hardships   and   trials,  God  is 
blessing  the  work  grandly. 

Not  very  long  ago  the  governor  of  our  col- 
ony sent  out  one  of  his  commissioners  to  meet 
the  Indians  with  supplies,  in  accordance  with 
the  treaty.  This  commissioner  sent  word  to 
one  of  our  Christian  Indians  to  bring  his  peo- 
ple to  a  certain  point,  as  he  would  be  there  to 
distribute  their  annual  allowances.  The  Indi- 
ans were  on  hand  at  the  time  appointed;  they 
brought  nothing  from  their  distant  camp  fires, 
for  they  expected  to  receive  abundant  supplies 
to  feast  upon.  But  the  day  came,  and  the  big 
white  commissioner  did  not  arrive, — and  it  is 
an  everlasting  disgrace  when  government  rep- 
resentatives break  word  with  the  Indians. 
The  commissioner  did  not  come  the  first  day, 
or  the  second,  and  the  Indians  were  hungry. 
They  went  to  the  big  chief  and  said,  "  Pakan, 
our  wives  and  children  are  crying  for  food, — 
here  are  our  supplies,  the  gift  of  the  Queen  to 
us,  and  her  servant  has  not  yet  come  to  dis- 
tribute them.  Will  you  open  them  and  give 
us  enough   to   satisfy   us?"     "Oh,    no,   my 


AMONG  RED  MEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.     lOI 

children,  I  have  never  broken  a  word  of  treaty 
and  I  don't  want  to  now,"  replied  the  chief. 
The  next  day  no  white  man  appeared,  and  the 
third  morning  those  young  Indians'  eyes  be- 
gan to  look  ominous  and  flash  out  something 
that  boded  trouble.  They  went  to  the  chief 
and  said,  "  We  must  have  food  for  our  hungry 
ones. ' '  His  answer  was,  ' '  Have  patience  a 
little  longer,  my  people,"  and  he  called  on  an 
Indian  who  had  a  splendid  horse  to  accompany 
him,  and,  mounting  his  own,  away  they  went 
as  fast  as  they  could,  to  find  and  hurry  up  the 
dilatory  commissioner.  About  noon  they  met 
him  coming  along  with  a  large  retinue  of 
friends  and  servants.  In  those  days  that 
country  abounded  in  game,  and  these  white 
men  had  gone  out  for  a  good  shooting  time. 
As  Pakan  rode  into  the  camp  at  noonday  he 
found  them  preparing  to  stop  there,  because 
not  far  off  was  a  spot  that  seemed  full  of  game. 
Pakan  said  to  the  commissioner,  ' '  You  have 
broken  your  promise  to  my  people.  You  were 
to  have  met  them  three  days  ago.  Don't  stop 
here, — come  on  and  distribute  the  supplies,  for 


I02  THE    MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

my  people  are  hungry."  "Oh,  Pakan,  I  am 
glad  to  see  3^ou, ' '  replied  the  white  man,  ' '  you 
are  the  chief.  I  would  like  to  have  you  dine 
with  me,  I  hear  you  are  a  great  hunter.  Come 
with  us  this  afternoon  and  show  me  your  skill 
in  hunting."  "No,"  said  he;  "you  have 
broken  your  word.  The  people  are  hungry, 
— come  on  at  once."  "Oh,  no;  I  am  going 
to  have  some  shooting."  Pakan  said,  "When 
are  you  coming  ?  "  "I  will  come  to-morrow. ' ' 
"Oh,'  said  Pakan,  "to-morrow  is  the  Sab- 
bath, and  we  have  been  taught  to  keep  the 
Sabbath. ' '  The  commissioner  answered,  * '  Mj^ 
religion  won't  prevent  me  from  distributing 
the  food  on  Sunday."  Pakan  looked  at  him. 
He  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  a  man  I 
ever  saw.  He  bravely  replied,  "I  don't  care 
what  your  religion  will  allow  you  to  do,  mine 
says,  '  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it 
holy,' — and,  hungry  as  we  are,  unless  you 
come  and  distribute  the  food  to-day,  we  will 
not  take  it  until  Monday. ' '  The  man  quailed 
before  him,  and  at  once  some  subordinate  was 
sent  back  with  him.     Before  they  left  the  com- 


AMONG  RED  MEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.    103 

missioner  said  to  the  chief,  "I  shall  come 
along  to-morrow,  and  we  will  have  our  usual 
annual  talk  about  Indian  affairs  and  the  distri- 
bution of  money."  Pakan  replied  again,  "To- 
morrow is  the  Sabbath,  and  we  will  have  no 
treaty  talk  to-morrow,"  and  away  he  rode. 
The  next  day  the  white  man  came  on  to  the 
Indian  encampment.  He  expected  the  Indians 
to  meet  him,  hundreds  of  them,  with  firing  of 
guns  and  waving  of  flags,  but  not  one  came  to 
receive  him,  and  no  guns  were  fired;  the  only 
wigwam  where  the  flag  was  flying  w^as  the 
place  where  the  people  met  together  three 
times  a  day  to  worship  God.  The  commis- 
sioner sent  out  his  criers  for  a  council,  but  not 
one  Indian  responded.  He  sent  for  Pakan  to 
come  and  dine  with  him,  but  Pakan  said,  "I 
dine  with  my  own  family  on  God's  day  when- 
ever I  can," — and  he  refused  the  invitation. 
It  is  a  great  thing  to  dine  with  the  ambassador 
of  the  Queen,  yet  this  godly  Indian  refused 
the  honor  on  account  of  his  respedl  for  the 
Sabbath  day. 

I  give  you  an  incident  that  is  pradlical,  and 


I04  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

that  3^ou  can  use  when  advocating  the  Sabbath 
as  a  day  of  rest.  When  Mr.  Evans  induced  a 
large  number  of  Indians  to  become  Christians, 
he  said  to  them,  * '  Remember  the  Sabbath  daj' 
to  keep  it  holy."  In  that  country  is  the 
greatest  fur  trading  company  in  the  world,  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company.  They  have  been  there 
since  the  reign  of  Charles  the  First.  All  the 
goods  are  taken  through  that  part  of  the 
country  by  brigades  of  boats.  Until  lately 
they  carried  all  their  goods  from  distant  places 
by  Indian  brigades,  who  bring  out  as  the 
exchange  cargo  boat-loads  of  furs,  which  are 
shipped  to  I^ondon.  Before  these  Indians 
became  Christians,  they  traveled  every  day 
alike.  When  our  mission  was  established,  all 
the  missionaries  went  in  for  the  obser\^ance  of 
the  Sabbath  day.  At  once  there  was  opposi- 
tion from  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  They 
argued,  *'Our  summer  is  short,  the  people 
have  to  work  in  a  hurry,  and  to  lose  one  day 
in  seven  will  be  a  terrible  loss  to  us,  and  you 
missionaries  must  get  out  of  the  country  if  you 
are   going   to   interfere   with   our   business." 


AMONG  RED  MEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.     I05 

There  was  downright  persecution  for  3^ears, — 
but  there  is  none  uoat,  for  it  was  found  that 
the  brigades  of  Indians  who  traveled  only  six 
days,  and  quietly  rested  on  the  Sabbath,  made 
the  journey  of  perhaps  fifteen  hundred  miles, 
without  a  single  exception,  in  less  time,  and 
came  back  in  better  health,  than  those  who 
traveled  without  observing  the  Sabbath.  So 
the  Hudson  Ba}'  Company  opposes  us  no  more. 
They  say,  "Go  on,  missionaries,  and  the 
Lord  bless  you." 

When  traveling  in  the  winter  we  had  to  dig 
holes  in  the  snow,  and  there  cook  our  fat  meat, 
and  make  a  kettle  of  tea,  and  then  try  to  go 
to  sleep,  until  sometimes  the  snow  piled  upon 
us,  during  the  fierce  blizzard  storms,  so  that 
we  were  completely  covered,  and  if  you  were 
out  hunting  you  could  tramp  right  over  us, 
little  dreaming  that  a  missionary  and  three 
dog-drivers  were  asleep  there  under  the  snow. 
I  did  not  take  m}-  wife  on  those  winter  journeys, 
but  in  the  summer  months  she  sometimes  went 
with  me.  We  were  paddling  along  one  day 
and  we  came  to  a  sand  bar,  where  we  went 


Io6  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

ashore,  and  while  the  Indian  boatmen  were 
cooking  the  dinner,  my  wife  and  I  walked 
along  the  beautiful  beach.  Soon  we  saw  a 
number  of  Indians  coming  along  in  their  birch 
canoes.  I  saw  that  they  were  some  of  my  old 
friends  whom  I  intended  to  visit  on  my  return 
journey.  As  they  came  along  in  their  canoes 
from  a  distant  point,  I  noticed  one  old  fellow 
who  had  not  the  strength  and  skill  of  the 
younger  fellows,  and  so  his  canoe  lagged  be- 
hind. I  said  to  my  wife,  ' '  My  dear,  go  down 
and  talk  to  that  old  Indian, — his  name  is  Ben- 
jamin Cameron.  Get  him  to  talk  to  you  of 
what  he  knows  of  Christianity,  and  I  will  talk 
to  the  others. ' '  So  my  good  wife  went  to  him 
where  he  landed,  and,  as  she  understands 
the  language  like  a  native,  they  sat  down 
on  the  rock  and  chatted.  When  dinner 
was  ready  she  did  not  care  to  come.  She 
seemed  very  unwilling  to  leave  the  old  man. 
She  replied  to  my  call,  ''Oh,  I  would  rather 
talk  to  this  old  man;  it  is  such  a  blessing  to 
hear  him  tell  of  what  God  has  done  for  hiin. 
It  is  a  greater  privilege  than  eating  my  dinner. ' ' 


AMONG  RED  MEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.     I07 

Finally  she  came  with  me,  and  as  we  walked 
back  she  talked  about  Benjamin,  and  her  face 
lighted  up  with  interest.  When  she  stopped 
I  said,  "  I  am  glad  that  you  think  so  much  of 
him;  I  think  just  as  much  of  him  as  any  one, 
but  listen :  he  was  once  a  cannibal  and  ate  his 
first  wife. "  "  Ugh !  ' '  she  exclaimed,  ' '  can  it 
be  possible  ?  Well,  I  am  glad  that  I  didn'  t  know 
it  before  I  talked  with  him  or  I  am  afraid  I 
shouldn't  have  so  enjoyed  the  interview." 
Years  ago  that  old  Indian  went  out  in  the 
woods  with  his  wife  for  their  winter  hunting. 
They  put  out  their  traps  and  snares  to  catch 
the  wild  animals  that  wandered  there  through 
those  northern  forests  in  the  cold  and  snow, — 
but  they  were  not  very  successful.  The  deer 
did  not  come  as  usual,  so  when  there  came  a 
day  that  food  was  scarce,  the  man  became  dis- 
couraged and  one  day  he  got  up  with  his  rifle 
and  shot  his  wife  dead.  He  put  the  body  out 
on  a  staging  where  it  froze  as  solid  as  marble, 
and,  when  other  supplies  failed,  he  went  to 
that,  and  during  the  winter  he  ate  his  own 
wife.     Years  after,  the  missionary  came  along 


I08  THE   MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

with  his  Book.  At  first  Benjamin  was  very 
shy  and  distant, — "  No!  no! — the  Book  is  for 
you  white  people  and  not  for  us. "  "  Come  now 
and  listen,— it  is  for  you."  He  said,  "  No," 
but  finally  he  became  interested. 

Those  Indians  have  wonderful  traditions  and 
stories,  and  I  used  to  match  their  tales  with 
Bible  stories.  Some  of  the  Indians  are  huge  fel- 
lows, over  six  feet  tall,  and  they  pride  them- 
selves on  their  stature.  As  they  talked  about 
their  height,  I  would  say,  "  Listen — I  have  a 
book  that  tells  about  a  man  as  tall  as  if  one  of 
3'ou  were  seated  on  the  shoulders  of  the  tallest 
among  you."  "Oh!  what  a  storj^;  what  talk 
is  that,  missionary?"  "Well,  come  and 
listen."  Then  I  talk  to  them  about  Goliath, 
and  get  them  interested,  and  the  Gospel  fol- 
lows. In  my  work  among  these  people  I  found 
one  reason  at  least  why  those  stories  were  in 
the  Bible.  Benjamin  would  not  listen,  but  he 
became  interested  in  the  stories,  and  then  he 
listened  to  the  Gospel.  Then  he  was  in  a  state 
of  despair  as  he  thought  of  his  great  crime; 
his  head  hung  down,  his  face  was  sad.      "  O !  " 


AMONG  RED  MEN  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.  109 

he  said,  "if  j'ou  had  only  come  before  I  shot 
my  wife,  I  might  have  had  a  chance,  but  don't 
tell  me  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  so  kind,  that  the 
great  Father  is  so  kind,  and  that  the  Son  Jesus 
is  so  kind,  as  to  look  down  and  notice  a  man 
who  shot  and  ate  his  wife."  "  Why,  yes,  I  do 
believe  He  can  save  you."  "Oh,  no,  no;  I 
thank  you  for  your  words,  but  I  am  sure  you 
must  be  mistaken.  He  surely  will  not  stoop 
so  low. "  "  Yes,  He  will. ' '  Then  I  think  of 
the  passage  '  *  beginning  at  Jerusalem . ' '  Christ 
said  pracflically,  *  *  Go  find  out  my  murderers 
and  oflfer  them  salvation. "  So  I  do  not  despair, 
and  such  a  blessed  Christian  does  Benjamin 
become  that,  when  my  wife  first  met  him, 
mature  blessed  Christian  woman  as  she  is,  she, 
nevertheless,  felt  that  she  was  a  child  to  sit  at 
his  feet,  and  listen  to  his  blessed  words.  If 
you  should  go  to  that  land,  and  should 
want  to  get  a  magnificent  pair  of  reindeer 
horns  or  a  splendid  bearskin,  there  would  not 
be  a  better  man  than  old  Benjamin  to  guide 
you  to  where  you  could  shoot  what  you  desired ; 
but  he  would  not  let  vou  be  with  him  five 


no  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

minutes  before  he  would  say,  ' '  Are  you  a 
Christian  ?  Do  you  love  my  Savior  ?  Is  His 
love  in  your  heart  ?  If  so,  give  me  your  hand; 
I  am  glad  to  shake  hands  with  one  who  loves 
this  blessed  Savior  who  so  loves  me. " 

Blessed  work!  May  God  give  us  a  mis- 
sionary spirit,  and  whether  it  is  in  home  mis- 
sions or  foreign  work,  church  work  or  prison 
work,  let  us  do  what  we  can,  and  remember 
Longfellow's  words,  so  applicable  in  these 
blessed  days: — 

"  Out  of  the  shadows  of  night 
The  world  rolls  into  the  light; 
It  is  day-break  everywhere." 


No.  VII. 

An  African  Saved  by  Grace. 

BY  W.    A.    ElyMSIylE,    lylVINGSTONIA. 

N  that  truly  wonderful  record, 
' '  lyovedale  :  Past  and  Present, ' ' 
defined  on  the  title-page  as  "a 
register  of  two  thousand  names,  a 
record  written  in  black  and  white,  but  more 
in  white  than  black,"  we  meet  the  following 
brief  notice  of  a  very  remarkable  man: 

William  Koyi  was  born  of  heathen  parents 
at  Thomas  River,  in  the  year  1846.  His 
mother  died  a  Christian.  He  left  his  home 
during  the  cattle-killing  mania  in  1857,  and 
went  to  seek  employment  among  the  Dutch 
farmers  in  the  colony,  earning  half  a  crown  a 
month  as  a  wagon  leader.  About  this  time  his 
father  died,  and  five  years  later  his  mother  and 
two  sisters.  He  left  his  Dutch  employer  and 
worked  for  five  years  at  one  of  the  wool- 
washing  establishments  in  Uitenhage,  and  was 


112  THE   MIRACLES  OF   MISSIONS. 

promoted  to  be  overseer.  From  thence  lie 
went  to  work  in  the  stores  of  Messrs.  A.  C. 
Stewart  &  Co.,  Port  Elizabeth,  where  he  re- 
mained for  about  the  same  number  of  years. 
He  had  never  attended  school,  but  now  felt  the 
need  of  education,  and,  therefore,  set  about 
learning  to  read  Kaffir.  He  had  about  this 
time  (1869)  been  converted  and  admitted  a 
member  of  the  Wesleyan  Church  at  Port 
Elizabeth. 

He  came  to  Lovedale  in  1871,  and  his  case 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  results  of  Eove- 
dale  work.  A  stray  leaf  of  the  Isigidimi 
Sama-Xosa,  which  he  picked  up  and  read  dur- 
ing his  dinner  hour  at  Port  Elizabeth,  was  the 
first  cause  of  his  attention  being  diredled  to 
the  place.  On  inquiry  he  found  it  was  150 
miles  distant,  and  then  he  resolved  to  walk  to 
it  and  seek  admission.  He  had  friends  in 
Tshoxa,  Rev.  Mr.  Liefeldt's  station,  and  it 
was  from  that  missionary  he  brought  a  note  of 
recommendation.  He  attended  the  first,  second, 
and  third  years'  classes,  and  during  his  stay  at 
Lovedale  he  was  a(5live,   willing,    and   trust- 


AN  AFRICAN  SAVED  BY  GRACU.    II3 

worthy,   caring  for  dut}^  and    not  popularity 
among  his  fellows. 

He  came  to  regard  I^ovedale  as  his  home, 
and  to  be  regarded  as  a  humble,  but  valuable, 
w^orker,  who  could  always  be  depended  on,  and 
needed  no  pushing  to  his  work  or  pressure  to 
keep  at  it  and  do  his  best,  and  make  himself 
generally  useful.  After  a  time  he  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  overseer  of  the  working 
companies  of  the  native  boarders. 

In  1876  he  offered,  along  with  thirteen 
others,  to  go  to  Livingstonia  as  a  native 
evangelist.  Only  four,  including  himself, 
were  chosen.  He  has  steadily  continued,  these 
nine  years,  at  the  work  at  Lake  Nyasa,  and 
shown  considerable  energy  and  natural  intelli- 
gence, and  has  thus  proved  to  be  of  great  serv- 
ice to  the  Free  Church  mission  in  Central 
Africa. 

The  foregoing  statement  was  printed  in  1886, 
in  which  year  William  died  on  the  4th  of  June, 
after  a  brief,  but  distressing,  illness,  which 
he  bore  with  Christian  fortitude.  A  few  notes 
of  his  life  and  chara6ler  in  Livingstonia,  may 


114  '^H^   MIRACI.ES   OF   MISSIONS. 

serve  to  show  how  God's  grace  and  power  may 
be  manifested  in  and  through  the  much- 
despised  African  native. 

William's  first  service  in  Livingstonia  was 
rendered  when  the  mission  was  located  at  Cape 
Macleao,  on  the  southern  shores  of  Lake 
Nyasa.  One  of  his  native  companions  from 
L<ovedale  died  there,  and  the  other  two  were 
invalided  home.  Despite  the  trying  climate 
and  the  frequent  severe  fevers,  he  persevered 
in  his  work,  and  in  many  departments  rendered 
important  service.  He  sought  to  serve  the 
Lord  in  all  that  he  did,  not  counting  any  task 
too  humble  to  require  full  consecration  in 
doing  it.  He  was  taken  by  Dr.  Laws,  the  late 
Mr.  James  Stewart,  and  Mr.  John  Moir  on 
their  important  journe3^s  of  exploration  on  the 
west  side  o£  Lake  Nyasa,  and  onward  as  far  as 
Tanganyika,  a  great  part  of  which  country  is 
now  the  field  of  the  Livingstonia  Mission. 
When  the  second  station  of  the  mission  was 
opened  half  way  up  the  lake,  at  Bandawe, 
William  proceeded  there  and  renewed  his  faith- 
ful labors  in  founding  it. 


AN    AFRICAN    SAVED    BY    GRACK.  II5 

THK   RAID   OF   THE   NGONI   WARRIORS. 

Some  incidents  connecfted  with  his  work  will 
illustrate  his  charadler.  On  one  occasion,  not 
long  after  the  mission  had  opened  the  Bandawe 
station,  report  of  a  large  Ngoni  war  party 
being  on  its  way  to  attack  the  people  around 
the  station,  was  brought  from  a  village  some 
miles  distant.  On  such  occasions  the  terror- 
stricken  natives  rushed  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
station,  in  hope  of  protection.  Thousands  of 
helpless  women  and  children  crouched  among 
the  brushes  around  the  station,  or  crawled  into 
holes  among  the  rocks  on  the  neighboring  hill, 
or  lay  on  the  beach  ready  to  take  to  water  as  a 
last  chance  of  life.  On  one  .such  occasion  not 
only  were  the  natives  alarmed,  but  so  threaten- 
ing were  the  circumstances  that  the  mission- 
aries hastil}'  put  together  a  few  things  and 
launched  the  boat  ready  for  escape  to  the  rocky 
island  some  hundreds  of  yards  off. 

When  the  report  above  referred  to  reached 
the  station,  a  consultation  was  held,  and  Wil- 
liam Koyi  volunteered  to  go  out  and  meet  the 
war  part}^  and  endeavor  to  turn  it  back  from 


Il6  THK   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

its  purpose.  He  walked  on  for  some  hours, 
and  at  last  met  the  party  at  a  little  stream, 
where  it  had  made  a  temporary  camp,  to  await 
a  favorable  opportunity  to  attack  the  village  of 
Matete,  some  two  hours'  march  from  the  mis- 
sion station.  It  was  composed  of  a  sedlion  of 
the  Ngoni,  with  whom  the  mission  had,  on  one 
of  the  journeys  of  exploration,  come  in  con- 
tac5l.  They  were,  it  was  stated,  not  only  in- 
tending to  attack  the  natives  of  the  Bandawe 
distridl,  but  also  the  mission  station,  in  order 
to  secure  the  wealth  of  cloth,  beads,  and  other 
good  things  they  fancied  were  stored  there. 
When  William  met  the  party,  and  before  he 
could  open  his  mouth,  the  young  warriors  began 
to  engage  in  war  dancing.  On  such  occasions 
the  slightest  indiscretion  in  speech  or  move- 
ment which  might  be  interpreted  as  defiance, 
would  have  led  to  an  immediate  attack. 

There,  with  only  a  few  friendly  boys,  Wil- 
liam beheld  the  awe-inspiring  war  dance  of 
Ngoni.  They  danced  in  companies  and  they 
danced  singly,  each  warrior  clad  in  hideous- 
looking    garb,  which,    with    their   large  war- 


AN   AFRICAN   SAVED    BY   GRACE.  II7 

shields,  almost  hid  their  human  form  and  made 
them  more  like  war-demons  than  men,  as  they 
leaped  and  brandished  their  broad -bladed 
stabbing-spears,  with  which  they  fight.  Wil- 
liam stood  for  a  time  watching  them,  utterly 
unable  to  decide  what  to  say  or  what  to  do  to 
efiedl  the  purpose  for  which  he  had  come  out. 
Secretly  praying  to  God  for  guidance  and  suc- 
cess, he  sat  down  on  the  bank  of  the  stream. 
Still  at  a  loss  to  know  what  he  should  do,  he 
took  off  one  of  his  boots  and  stockings  and 
began  to  wash  his  foot.  That  done,  he  as 
leisurely,  and  still  puzzled,  put  on  his  boot 
again;  but  still  the  dancing  went  on,  and  there 
was  no  opportunity  to  speak,  even  had  he 
known  what  to  say.  He  then  proceeded  to 
wash  his  other  foot,  and  the  warriors  sat  down. 
He  thereupon  found  the  opportunity  for  speech, 
and  remarked  in  an  off-hand  manner: 

' '  Now,  you  are  sensible  people  to  rest  your- 
selves on  this  hot  day." 

This  produced  a  burst  of  laughter  from  the 
warriors.  The  spell  was  broken;  the  war-like 
intentions  of  the  party  were  frustrated;   free 


Il8  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

and  open  speech  was  found.  The  result  was 
that  war  was  averted,  and  a  secflion  of  the 
party  was  condudled  to  the  mission  station, 
when  it  was  arranged  that  William  and  Albert 
Namalambe,  being  at  that  time  at  Bandawe, 
should  go  back  with  the  party  and  see  Mom- 
bera  wdth  a  view  to  a  permanent  residence 
among  the  Ngoni.  Thus,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  the  war  party  that  left  home  bent  on  war 
and  plunder,  returned  as  guides  and  escort  of 
the  messengers  of  the  Gospel  of  peace.  This 
incident,  which  well  illustrates  the  valuable 
work  of  our  departed  colleague,  was  the  pre- 
lude to  the  commencement  of  the  work  among 
the  Ngoni,  the  success  of  which  has  been 
very  remarkable. 

Mombera,  the  Ngoni  chief,  once  said  to  me, 
**  My  army,  when  away  from  home,  are  like 
mad  dogs;  they  can  not  be  kept  in,  but  bite 
small  and  great  the  same ; ' '  and  only  those 
who  passed  through  the  fire  of  the  pioneering 
days  at  Bandawe  and  in  Ngonilan,  can  meas- 
ure the  service  done  that  day,  not  only  to  the 
thousands  around  Bandawe,  but  toward  the 


AN   AFRICAN   SAVED   BY   GRACE.  II9 

success  of  the  Livingstonia  mission.  Years 
afterward,  when  I  was  one  evening  encamped 
at  the  village  near  which  the  Ngoni  army  was 
met,  the  chief  related  to  me  the  story,  and  sent 
a  bunch  of  bananas  for  William  Koyi,  to  show 
that  he  had  not  forgotten  what  he  had  done 
for  them. 

When  William  accompanied  the  warriors 
back  to  Ngoniland,  he  and  Albert  were  intro- 
duced to  Mombera,  and  resided  in  a  hut  in  one 
of  his  villages.  The  Ngoni  took  some  time 
before  they  gave  them  a  welcome,  as  there  was 
one  party  favorable  to,  and  another  against, 
their  being  allowed  to  stay.  They  were  ex- 
posed to  many  insults  and  threats,  and  their 
position  was  at  times  extremely  critical.  They 
often  feared  to  be  both  asleep  at  the  same  time, 
and  took  turns  in  watching  on  account  of  the 
threatening  attitude  of  the  people.  In  all  those 
days  William's  knowledge  of  the  Kaffir  lan- 
guage was  invaluable.  Mombera,  the  chief, 
despite  his  rough  manners  and  despotic  be- 
havior, was  very  fatherly  and  fond  of  children, 
and  formed  a  remarkable  attachment  to  Albert, 


I20  T.HE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

who  had  a  very  attradive  appearance  and  man- 
ner. This  Albert,  it  should  be  noted,  was  the 
first  convert  in  the  Livingstonia  mission,  and 
has,  since  Cape  Maclear  station  was  vacated  by 
Europeans  in  1880,  carried  on  the  work  there, 
many  having  been  added  to  the  church  through 
his  labors. 

William  Koyi  was  known  among  the  Ngoni 
by  the  native  name  Umtiisani^  and  from  love 
to  him  Mombera  had  a  son  named  after  him. 
Mombera  was  very  kind  to  him,  and  although 
he  often  made  sport  of  what  was  told  him  of 
the  Gospel,  he  always  showed  him  great 
respedl,  and  was  often  in  hot  water  with  his 
head  men  on  account  of  his  attachment  to  him 

AT   AN    NGONI   WAR   DANCE. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  last  great  tribal  func- 
tion, the  ceremony  of  ' '  crowning ' '  those  who, 
having  been  out  to  war  and  proved  their  valor, 
were  henceforth  to  take  their  places  as  men  in 
the  afEairs  of  the  nation,  there  was  a  gathering 
of  several  thousand  of  armed  men,  in  the  royal 
kraal.     William    attended,    as   it   was   politic 


AN    AFRICAN   SAVED    BY    GRACE.  121 

never  to  show  any  signs  of  fear.  A  clamor 
was  raised  in  one  of  the  miHtary  parties  that 
he  should  be  killed,  as  he  had  come  to  throw 
dust  in  the  chief's  eyes.  One  of  the  most 
famous  of  the  Ngoni  generals,  named  Da- 
wambi,  led  off  a  great  war  dance  which  was 
very  well  fitted  to  make  one's  hair  stand  up. 
This  valiant's  war  whoop  was  "submit." 
His  movements,  as  I  witnessed  on  another 
occasion,  were  terrible  to  behold.  We  were 
wont  to  call  him  Belshazzar,  as  in  his  war 
dancing  ' '  he  lifted  up  himself  against  the 
Lord  of  Heaven."  With  spear  in  hand  he 
began  by  walking  with  uplifted  proud  look, 
round  and  round  in  front  of  his  warriors,  while 
they  continued  beating  their  shields  with  their 
war  clubs.  Then,  kicking  the  dust  of  the 
cattle-fold  over  those  around,  and  pointing  his 
spear  at  them  in  seeming  indignation,  he  cried, 
* '  submit. ' '  The  assembled  thousands  of 
warriors,  beating  their  shields,  cried  "submit." 
Proceeding,  he  named  the  several  surrounding 
tribes;  the  hills  and  mountains;  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars;  his  fury  seemingly  waxing  stronger, 


122  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

and  the  clouds  of  dust  flying,  while  at  each  call 
the  warriors  beat  their  shields  and  cried  "sub- 
mit." The  elements  of  nature,  rain,  thunder, 
lightning,  were  all  called  upon  to  submit;  and, 
amid  the  increasing  din  of  shield-beating  and 
roaring  of  the  warriors,  the  climax  of  his  dance 
and  his  daring  blasphemy  was  reached,  when, 
pointing  his  spear  to  the  sky,  he  cried,  as  the 
foam  flew  from  his  mouth,  "Thou  who  art 
above,  submit!"  The  tumult  was  as  if  all 
assembled  had  turned  into  demons,  and  it  is  not 
surprising  that  great  fear  fell  on  William  Koyi, 
who  was  alone  at  the  time.  Mombera  saw  his 
discomfiture,  and  perhaps  feared  for  his  life, 
and,  rising  up  went  and  took  him  by  the  hand 
and  led  him  to  his  own  place,  and  sat  down  be- 
side him.  It  was  what,  probably,  saved  his  life 
on  that  occasion,  for  if  once  a  cry  for  blood  went 
out  in  a  company  of  warriors  fired  by  such 
dancing  as  that  of  Dawambi,  they  indeed  be- 
came as  mad  dogs,  or  worse.  Such  scenes 
have  forever  passed  away,  but  in  those  days 
they  always  ended  in  bloodshed. 


AN   AFRICAN   SAVED    BY   GRACE.  1 23 

ACCUSED   OF    WITCHCRAFT. 

William  was  in  perils  oft.  On  a  visit  to 
Ngoniland  of  some  of  the  members  of  the  Ban- 
dawe  staff,  one  of  the  party  in  a  very  natural 
manner  touched  the  head  of  one  of  Mombera's 
children,  and  remarked  how  fine  a  child  he 
was.  To  do  such  a  thing  is  considered  un- 
lucky. It  so  happened  that  when  the  party 
left  William,  to  return  to  Bandawe,  the  child 
sickened  and  died.  The  cry  was  raised  that 
he  had  been  bewitched  when  he  was  patted  on 
the  head.  The  matter  was  threatening  enough 
at  the  time,  and  it  revealed  something  of 
Mombera's  chara(fter  when  he  secretly  in- 
formed William,  and  said  that  he  himself  did 
not  agree  with  those  who  said  the  child  had 
been  bewitched.  The  matter  was  of  great 
importance,  and  the  council  summoned  the 
divining  men,  who  fortunately  blamed  some 
evil  spirit  and  not  the  member  of  the  mission. 
The  council  were  not  satisfied,  and  more  than 
likely  the  party  opposed  to  the  mission  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  seizing  on  this  as  a  pretext 
for  driving  William  out  of  the  country,  if  not 


124  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

for  killing  him.  Secretly,  Mombera  informed 
him  of  all  that  was  going  on.  The  council 
insisted  on  having  recourse  to  the  poison 
ordeal.  Fowls,  to  represent  the  mission  party, 
had  the  poison  administered  to  them.  They 
all  vomited,  which  sign  had  to  be  taken  as 
clearing  the  accused.  But  so  determined, 
apparently,  were  the  council  to  obtain  a  con- 
vidlion,  that  they  remembered  that  the  usual 
test  as  to  whether  the  presiding  dodlor  was 
giving  true  poison  {mwave)  had  not  been 
carried  out.  They  treated  one  other  fowl  to 
the  poison,  and  the  result  established  the  inno- 
cence of  the  missionaries.  The  incident  serves 
to  show  how  insecure  from  man's  point  of  view 
the  position  of  our  hero  often  was,  but  to  one 
who  walked  with  God  there  was  in  all  these 
things  great  spiritual  help. 

These  were  not  the  only  occasions  on  which 
our  colleague  was  placed  in  trying  circum- 
stances, which  required  great  wisdom,  manli- 
ness, and  devotion  to  duty;  but  all  through 
there  was  no  wavering  or  weakness  shown. 
He   understood   his   position,    and    the    trust 


\V..MEN  Witch  Doctors  of  S.-ith  Africa. 


AN   AFRICAN   SAVKD    BY   GRACE.  12$ 

which  was  placed  in  him,  and  with  characfler- 
istic  humihty  and  absence  of  self-seeking,  he 
went  through  it  all,  counting  it  an  honor  to  be 
a  messenger  of  the  cross  to  Ngoni.  Those 
who  have  to  deal  with  natives  understand  how 
many,  who  are  otherwise  good  and  trust- 
worthy, lose  themselves  entirely  when  entrusted 
with  a  little  authority.  But  William  Koyi 
never  forgot  '  *  the  hole  of  the  pit  whence  he 
was  dug,"  and  the  character  for  steadiness, 
humility,  and  devotion  to  duty,  which  Dr. 
Stewart  gave  him,  was  fully  borne  out  to  the 
very  end. 

In  those  early  years  of  the  work  among  the 
Ngoni,  William  had  to  bear  the  chief  burden 
of  the  frequent  outbursts  of  Ngoni  pride  and 
impatience.  If  he  was  not  there  alone,  and 
having  to  meet  them  himself,  he  was,  till  near 
his  death,  required  as  interpreter  and  chief 
speaker.  I  became  aware,  on  several  occasions, 
that  he  hid  from  others  and  from  me  much 
of  the  anger,  hard  words,  and  evil  intentions 
of  the  Ngoni.  He  was,  as  a  native,  able  to 
discount  what  they  said;  but  his  kindly  nature 


126  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

was  shown  in  his  rather  suffering  obloquy  him- 
self than  that  his  white  friends  should  be  dis- 
tressed. 

WILLIAM  AS  AN   EVANGELIST. 

William  Koyi  was  a  devoted  evangelist,  and, 
so  far  as  liberty  to  carry  on  mission  work  was 
given,  he  was  eager  to  embrace  every  oppor- 
tunity for  telling  of  the  love  of  Christ.  His 
life  was  a  sermon  which  made  the  people 
wonder,  question,  and  think.  More  by  per- 
sonal talks  than  by  set  discourse  he  exercised 
an  influence  over  the  thought  of  the  people, 
which  we  can  never  fully  measure.  While 
they  w^ere  willing  to  twist  our  statements  to  fit 
them  in  with  their  own  practices,  and  to  ignore 
the  real  objedl  of  our  presence,  he  kept  our 
objedl  ever  before  them,  and  compelled  their 
attention  to  it,  in  a  way  at  once  effedlual  and 
without  irritating  them.  He  was  a  diligent 
student  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  with  much 
warmth  of  Christian  experience  he  was  ever  a 
happy  Christian.  He  had  persevered  to  ac- 
quire a  very  fair  use  of  the  English  language  and 


AN    AFRICAN   SAVED    BY    GRACE.  1 27 

literature.  A  common  Kaffir — '  *  a  mission 
Kaffir  " — to  be  sneered  at  by  white  men  not  in 
possession  of  a  tithe  of  his  manliness  or  moral 
charadler,  he  was  one  with  whom  it  was  a 
privilege  to  associate,  and  from  whom,  I 
acknowledge  with  pride,  I  received  unmeas- 
ured help,  and  to  whose  achievements  in  those 
earl}^  daj^s  the  success  we  can  now  chronicle  is 
in-  a  large  measure  due.  He  died  before  he 
saw  much  fruit  of  his  labors  among  the  Ngoni. 
He  lived  in  the  assurance  that  the  day  would 
soon  come  when  the  work  would  be  allowed  to 
go  on  unhindered  by  the  council.  He  could 
take  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  aims  and 
work  of  the  mission,  looking  beyond  the  im- 
mediate future,  to  a  degree  very  remarkable 
for  a  native.  He  strongly  urged  upon  his  fel- 
low-countrymen in  the  colony  the  importance 
and  chara(^l;er  of  the  work,  and  the  call  for 
them  to  give  themselves  to  it.  The  following 
is  part  of  a  letter  written  in  1883: 

* '  It  will  be  a  great  day  when  the  native 
Christians  of  South  Africa  will  willingly  un- 
dertake the  work  here,  and  give  up  their  lives 


128  THE    MIRACLES    OF   MISSIONS. 

to  come  and  teach  their  countrymen  at  Lake 
Nyasa.  I  wish  I  had  a  better  education;  I 
would  give  myself  wholly  to  my  countrymen 
here.  Here  is  work  for  Christ  standing  still. 
You  (native  Christians)  have  received  much, 
and  have  received  education.  I  do  not  say 
you  do  not  work  with  that  education  where 
you  are,  but  can  you  not  spare  even  two  to 
come  and  teach  these  people  who  are  dying  in 
darkness  ?  What  am  I  to  think,  and  what  encour- 
agement will  my  poor  soul  receive,  if  no  attempts 
are  made  by  you  to  second  my  poor  efforts? 
My  great  wish^  is  that  there  was  a  white  and 
also  a  native  missionary  here,  and  then  the 
work  would  progress.  I  think  there  should 
be  more  coming  to  help  in  this  great  work." 

A   TRIUMPHANT   DEATH. 

And  his  death  ?  How  died  the  faithful  soldier 
of  the  cross  ?  As  he  had  lived,  strong  in  faith 
and  in  the  assurance  of  acceptance  with  God 


*This  "great  wish"  was  the  conviction  of  Dr. 
Laws  also,  and  my  being  sent  out  in  1884  was  the  re- 
sponse to  it  of  friends  at  home. 


AN   AFRICAN   SAVED    BY   GRACE.  1 29 

through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  sick- 
ness from  which  he  died  ran  a  rapid  course. 
Having  to  go  to  Bandawe,  I  left  him  con- 
valescent from  an  attack  of  fever.  I  had  only- 
been  gone  a  few  days  when  his  condition  be- 
came serious,  and  he  expressed  a  desire  to  have 
me  with  him.  I  hurried  back  and  found,  to 
my  dismay,  that  a  dangerous  affe<5lion  of  the 
heart  had  supervened.  He  rallied  for  a  time, 
and  though  still  confined  to  bed,  he  was  full  of 
hope  that  he  was  to  be  raised  up  again  for  his 
work.  One  day  toward  the  end,  a  large  depu- 
tation of  the  chief's  headmen  were  seen  ascend- 
ing the  hill  to  the  station.  From  previous 
experience  we  had  only  too  good  reasons  to  be 
anxious  as  to  their  objedl.  Great  was  Will- 
iam's regret  that  he  could  not  take  his  wonted 
place  when  the  deputation  arrived.  It  was  the 
first  occasion  on  which  I  had  been  deprived  of 
his  help.  I  was  very  anxious,  but  soon  the 
occasion  was  one  for  glad  thankfulness  to 
Almighty  God.  They  had  come  to  proclaim 
that  we  were  now  free  to  teach  the  children 
and  to  go  about  in  the  country.     As  soon  as 

111—9. 


130  THE   MIRACLES    OF   MISSIONS. 

they  left,  I  hastened  to  the  sick  chamber  to 
give  the  good  news  to  my  dear  colleague.  As 
I  entered  (he  was  sitting  propped  up  in  bed  on 
account  of  his  labored  breathing)  he  said 
eagerly,  "What  is  it?"  "Can  you  believe 
it,"  I  said,  "we  have  now  full  liberty  to  carry 
on  all  our  work  and  open  schools  ? ' '  Clasping 
his  hands,  and  taking  up  the  words  of  the 
aged  Simeon  as  he  beheld  the  Savior,  with  a 
never-to-be-forgotten  gleam  of  joy  lighting  up 
his  wasted  countenance,  he  said,  "  Lord,  now 
lettest  thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  Thy  salvation !  ' ' 

He  was  overcome  and  lay  for  a  time  as  if  dead. 
The  words  he  uttered  were  his  prayer,  and  it 
was  answered  two  days  afterward,  when,  in 
peace  he  was  taken  to  the  higher  service  of 
the  sanc5luary  above.  "  My  Savior  is  with 
me,"  were  his  last  words.  The  words  he 
uttered  were  also  his  thanksgiving,  and  his 
resignation.  During  the  interv^al  till  his  death, 
quite  contrary  to  his  former  hopefulness  of 
recovery,  he  was  assured  he  was  to  die.  Once 
he  said  he  would  like  to  be  raised  up  to  see  the 


AN   AFRICAN   SAVED    BY    GRACE.  I3I 

work  in  progress,   but  he  knew  it  was  to  be 
otherwise,  and  he  said  it  was  best. 

So  died  William  Koyi,  a  humble  and  faith- 
ful follower  of  the  Savior;  a  trophy  from 
heathenism,  and  the  pioneer  of  the  Gospel  in 
Ngoniland.  It  was  meet  that,  his  work  done, 
his  dust  should  rest  where  he  had  fought  the 
battle,  and  his  grave  become  the  title-deed  to 
''Ngoniland  for  Christ."  His  was  the  first 
mission  grave  opened  there. 

John  Ruskin  says,  ' '  The  lives  we  need  to 
have  written  for  us  are  those  of  the  people 
whom  the  world  has  not  thought  of — who  are 
yet  doing  the  most  of  its  work,  and  of  whom 
we  may  learn  how  it  can  best  be  done. ' ' 


No.  VIII. 

Thk  Blind  Apostle  of  Manchuria. 

'HE  simple  story  of  Ch'ang's  conver- 
sion and  apostolic  labors  is  in  itself 
a  whole  volume  of  evidences  of 
Christianity.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Hun  Yuen,  a  secft  of  Buddhists  that 
abstained  from  both  flesh  and  wine,  as  vege- 
tarians, and  are,  in  their  way,  ver}^  earnest, 
devout,  and  zealous.  They  form  one  of  very 
many  secret  organizations  in  China,  and  be- 
cause of  this  principle  of  secrecy,  are  under 
suspicion  by  the  government  as  involving 
danger,  possibly,  to  the  imperial  rule.  Their 
rites  of  initiation,  like  those  of  freema.sonry, 
are  profoundl)^  secret. 

Ch'ang  was  a  blind  man,  but  tho  outwardly 
blind,  the  inward  eye  was  opened  to  the  truth 
wherever  he  could  find  it.  He  was  well  trained 
in  the  teachings  not  only  of  Buddha  but  of 
Confucius,  but  as  is  too  often  the  case,  these 
132 


BLIND    APOSTLE   OF    MANCHURIA.         1 33 

systems  of  ethics  failed  to  touch  his  heart  or 
rule  his  condudl,  and  among  other  vices  which 
ruled  him  was  an  inv^eterate  attachment  to 
gambling. 

In  1886,  when  about  thirty-seven  3^ears  of 
age,  his  sight  began  to  fail  rapidly,  and  he  was 
threatened  with  total  blindness. 

He  lived  in  Tai-piug-kou,  a  remote  moun- 
tain village;  but  the  report  of  the  wonderful 
cures  accomplished  by  Dr.  Christie,  a  medical 
missionary  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church 
at  Moukden,  Manchuria,  penetrated  to  his  dis- 
tant home.  In  hopes  that  his  sight  might  be 
restored,  he  undertook  a  journey  of  more  than 
one  hundred  miles,  groping  his  way  as  a 
blind  man  over  weary  roads,  to  place  himself 
under  Dr.  Christie's  care  and  treatment. 

In  order  to  pay  the  debts  incurred  in  gam- 
bling, he  had  sold  whatever  he  possessed,  and 
took  with  him  what  remained,  to  pay  for  his 
lodging,  etc.,  in  Moukden;  but,  falling  among 
robbers,  he  was  despoiled  of  everything  on 
the  way,  and  left  to  starve.  Nevertheless  he 
plodded  on,  weak  and  weary,  until  one  morn- 


134  'I'HE   MIRACLES   OE   MISSIONS. 

ing,  destitute  and  desolate,  and  with  scarcely 
any  clothes  left  upon  him,  and  in  the  last  stages 
of  dysentery,  this  poor  blind  man  was  found  at 
the  gate  of  the  mission  hospital.  The  beds 
were  all  full,  but  so  great  was  the  compassion 
awakened  in  his  behalf,  that  the  native  evan- 
gelist gave  up  his  own  couch,  that  Ch'ang 
might  be  provided  for.  He  received  the  best 
care  and  nursing,  and  before  long  his  health 
was  restored. 

The  treatment  of  his  eyes  issued  in  a  partial 
cure,  so  that  he  was  able  to  see  a  little,  but, 
soon  after  he  left  the  hospital,  a  Chinese  friend 
and  adviser  assured  him  that  he  would  regain 
his  sight  by  pricking  his  eyes  with  a  7ieedle! 
Poor  Ch'ang  submitted  to  the  operation,  but 
the  very  natural  result  was  that,  instead  of 
remedying  his  blindness,  it  now  became  total 
and  incurable. 

However,  his  reception  at  the  mission  hos- 
pital was  not  in  vain.  He  had  heard  some 
Christian  instrudion,  and  the  seeds  of  the 
kingdom  took  root  in  his  very  soul.  He  had 
known  enough  of  Buddha  and   Confucius  to 


9^. 

'f?i_'*    ' 

M' 

iMP" 

11 

fcs."*- 

Kf  «»-^  m 

1 

BLIND    APOSTLE    OF    MANCHURIA.         1 35 

find  whatever  was  helpful  in  their  teaching, 
but  he  now  saw  that  Christ  alone  was  able  to 
feed  and  fill  the  longings  of  his  soul,  and  he 
at  once  received  Him  not  only  as  Savior,  but 
as  Master  and  Lord.  Desirous  to  fulfil  all 
righteousness,  he  asked  to  be  baptized;  but  as 
a  month  had  not  then  expired  since  his  con- 
version, his  teacher  felt  that  it  was  wiser  to 
put  him  on  probation,  deferring  his  baptism 
until  his  piety  had  been  subjedled  to  a  longer 
test.  How  pathetic  was  the  reply  of  this  blind 
disciple:  "  None  of  m)^  people  have  ever  heard 
even  the  name  of  Jesus,  or  of  His  offer  of  the 
gift  of  eternal  life;  and  do  you  think  I  can 
keep  that  to  myself  any  longer  ?  I  do  wish  for 
baptism,  but  I  can  not  delay  my  return." 

So  this  poor  blind  man  was  dismissed  with- 
out having  received  the  outward  sign  and  seal 
of  his  new  discipleship;  but  his  friend,  Rev. 
James  Webster,  comforted  him  with  the 
promise  that  he  would  by  and  by  seek  him  out 
in  his  remote  mountain  village,  and  there 
administer  the  ordinance.  There  were,  how- 
ever, only  three  missionaries  in  Moukden,  and 


136  THK    MIRACLES    OK    MISSIONS. 

the  duties  incumbent  upon  them  were  more 
numerous  and  onerous  than  they  could  properl}^ 
discharge ;  so  that  a  half  year  had  elapsed 
before  Mr.  Webster  could  go  to  Tai-ping-kou, 
and  even  then  he  found  the  journey  very  difl&- 
cult.  What  was  his  astonishment,  as  he  ap- 
proached this  distant  abode  of  Ch'ang,  to  find 
that,  altho  blindness  is  so  common  in  China — 
it  is  supposed  that  there  are  500,000  blind  peo- 
ple in  the  empire,  or  an  average  of  about 
one  in  every  six  hundred  souls — this  poor 
blind  man  seemed  to  be  a  famous  charadler  in 
the  vicinity;  and,  when  at  length  he  reached 
the  village,  which  no  foreigner  appeared  ever  to 
have  visited  before,  instead  of  being  received 
with  the  usual  signs  of  aversion,  called 
"foreign  devil,"  etc.,  the  village  school- 
master, Mr.  lyi,  gave  him  a  cordial  welcome, 
as  the  expecfled  ' '  pastor ' '  whose  visit  had  been 
promised,  and  who  had  at  length  come  to  fulfil 
his  promise.  From  him  Mr.  Webster  learned 
that  Ch'ang  had  gone  forth  on  his  daily  occu- 
pation, itinerating  from  village  to  village,  un- 
hindered by  the  mudd}^  swamps,  rugged  hills, 


BLIND   APOSTLE   OF   MANCHURIA.         1 37 

and  crooked  paths,  which  even  to  those  who 
had  sight  proved  so  wearisome  and  difficult, 
and  that  the  sole  work  of  Ch'ang  was  to  wit- 
ness for  the  new  Jesus  whom  he  had  found, 
and  to  tell  the  people  about  his  Savior  and 
lyord.  Sometimes  in  the  evenings  he  gathered 
hundreds  of  hearers  beneath  the  shade  of  wil- 
low trees,  or  availed  himself  of  such  smaller 
gatherings  as  he  could  assemble  in  private 
houses. 

His  experience  had  been  of  a  somewhat 
varied  charadler.  He  was  at  first  met  with 
ridicule,  or  with  pity,  as  one  who  was  not  only 
blind  but  crazy;  but  he  persevered,  meanwhile 
giving  the  higher  witness  of  a  holy  life  and  a 
transformed  charadter.  Public  opinion  was 
divided,  some  blessing  and  some  cursing,  but 
still  he  kept  on  in  his  blessed  work,  living  for 
God  and  walking  in  His  fellowship,  praying  in 
faith  for  help  from  above,  and  singing  the  one 
hymn  that  he  had  learned  in  the  hospital: 
This  I  know,  that  Jesus  loves  me. 

These  daily  journeys  were  taken  alone — a 
blind  man,  with  no  companion  but  his  staff, 


138  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

and  no  guide  but  his  invisible  Master,  un- 
weariedly  telling  the  simple  story  of  good  news 
of  eternal  life  in  Jesus  Christ  to  all  whom  he 
could  induce  to  listen. 

Mr.  Li,  already  referred  to  as  the  village 
schoolmaster,  and  himself  the  first  convert  won 
to  Christ  by  Ch'ang,  testified  that  the  result 
of  these  simple  apostolic  journeys  was,  that  a 
large  number  first  inquired  earnestly  about  the 
dodtrine  that  Ch'ang  taught,  and  then  be- 
came sincere  believers,  and  desired  to  be  faith- 
ful followers  of  this  new  Master. 

When  Ch'ang  came  back  from  his  day's 
work,  his  delight  on  learning  that  Mr.  Webster 
had  come  was  most  touching  to  behold.  From 
his  sightless  eyes  tears  flowed  down,  as  he 
exclaimed:  "Oh,  pastor,  I  alwaj^s  said  you 
would  come !  ' '  his  words  showing  that  others 
had  met  with  scoffing  his  confidence  in  his 
friend's  promise.  Very  soon  he  had  sent 
messengers  in  every  diredlion  to  the  various 
villages  roundabout,  and  his  converts  soon 
arrived.  One  by  one,  in  their  own  simple  w^ay, 
but  with  deep  feeling  and  earnest  resolution, 


BLIND    APOSTLE   OI^   MANCHURIA.         1 39 

they  told  of  their  faith  in  Jesus,  and  gave  such 
proofs  of  genuineness  that,  on  the  next  day, 
nine  of  them,  with  their  blind  teacher  at  the 
head,  received  baptism,  and  thus  outwardly 
put  on  Christ,  altho  such  obedience  to  His 
commands  exposed  them  not  only  to  ridicule 
and  opposition,  but  to  the  risk  of  persecution 
even  unto  death,  and  in  forms  atrociously  cruel. 
Others  likewise  wishing  baptism,  they  were 
told  to  wait  until  they  could  be  more  fully 
taught  in  the  things  of  God.  Let  us  hear  Mr. 
Webster's  own  testimony: 

"  One  thing  of  which  I  am  well  assured,  is 
this:  Blind  Ch'ang,  of  Tai-ping-kou,  with  little 
knowledge,  but  with  a  heart  thrilled  to  the 
core  with  the  truth  which  he  knew,  had  in 
these  months  done  more  work  and  better  work 
for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  than  half-a-dozen 
foreign  missionaries  could  have  done  in  as 
many  years.  And  this  is  only  one  of  many 
proofs  that  China  must  be  evangelized  by  the 
Chinese." 

Ch'ang  told  Mr.  Webster  of  a  night-vision 
which  he  had,  soon  after  leaving  the  mission, 


140  THE   MIRACLES    OE    MISSIONS. 

and  which  had  been  a  great  source  of  comfort. 
He  had  seen  the  Savior  in  white  garments 
and  with  a  dazzling  crown,  approaching  him 
with  a  book  in  His  hand,  which  he  gave  to 
him  with  a  smile,  and  straightway  vanished. 
Mr.  Webster  interpreted  his  vision:  the  Word 
of  God  was  now  to  be  given  to  the  blind,  and 
if  he  wished  to  teach  others,  he  must  himself 
learn  to  read  the  book.  He  then  told  him  of 
Mr.  W.  H.  Murray's  school  for  the  blind  at 
Peking,  and  encouraged  him  to  go  there  as  a 
student. 

The  thought  of  learning  to  read  and  write 
seemed  to  Ch'ang  like  a  myth,  but  to  please 
his  teacher  and  pastor,  he  promised  that  he 
would  do  his  best;  and,  led  b}^  a  blind  lad,  he 
undertook  on  foot  the  hundred  miles'  journey 
over  the  mountains  to  Moukden,  then  he  took 
boat  to  Niu  Chwang,  and  by  cart,  from  Tung- 
chow  to  Peking.  He  was  greeted  with  a  warm 
welcome  by  Mr.  Murray,  and,  within  three 
months,  he  had  so  mastered  the  arts  of  reading 
and  writing,  and  also  of  writing  and  reading 
music,  that  he  himself  undertook  to  instrudl  a 


•  •        •      •  ** 

,m,        •    ••    ••    •        •        •  •    • 

•    •        ••  ••       •  ••    • 


H^       1 

fyO          ?3 

Ss       > 

o-o       ■^, 

a?    ^- 

•                      •                          ••          •                           •      ••      •- 

Syste 

THE 

pagef 
J  are  ra 

•  •           •      •           •                                                                        •• 

5-3  W" 

i-ho    ^  '^ 

••        •                           •                •            *                     •           I* 

:•••:.:•:•••••    ••: 

£5      S 

^?      « 

1    s 

^           •  ••  • 

^       c 

••  •  ••  •  ••  •  ••  ••  •  • 

«   •  •  ••  •    •  •    ••  •• 

C/2 

,    /    ir  -      1  V    U  -i    U    r 

JBOLS    FO 

A  portion 

i\-l-i   -^r-  V  \n   /  iL 

^/wai/-il\l\u\i-J 

^      G  O 

-I    IL.   /    D  ■"    ^     D  •'"''^    "" 

-     1     /       1    w\  ^\  1  \  U   •*-»    ^ 

.\i\.i  w-r    \;    -^a  u 

=  h5 

a    g 

JD-N"          '•'■TD- 

?    ^ 

-    .r    ^   -          -UIND    L 

•< 

-T. 

BLIND    APOSTLE    OF    MANCHURIA.         141 

pupil.  Mr.  Murray  desired  Ch'aug  to  remain 
for  a  longer  course  of  teaching,  but  the  blind 
lad,  who  had  condudled  him,  continued  to  be 
ill,  and  his  own  longing  to  go  back  to  his 
countrymen  and  impart  the  knowledge  of 
Jesus  to  them  impelled  him  to  return.  He 
said:  "  My  countrymen  are  all  heathen,  and  I 
must  go  and  show  them  what  Jesus  has  done 
for  me,  and  teach  them  His  precious  Gospel." 
He  started  for  home,  provided  with  such  por- 
tions of  the  Scriptures  as  had  then  been  stereo- 
typed by  the  blind  students,  and  with  a  new 
writing  frame,  and  soon  gladdened  Mr.  Mur- 
ray's heart  by  a  letter  from  his  own  hand  in 
embossed  type.  Again  he  began  his  daily 
journeys,  reading  the  Word  of  God  to  crowds 
of  his  countrymen,  who  were  surprised  to  see 
a  blind  man  read  with  his  finger  tips. 

Four  years  later  he  returned  to  Peking 
for  further  instru(5lion,  and,  since  then,  has 
been  working  as  a  pioneer  in  the  Manchurian 
mountains,  at  one  time  reaching  a  distridl  fully 
two  hundred  miles  eastward.  His  work  has 
been  prospered  in  a  most  remarkable  degree, 


142  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

and  many  thank  God  that  Ch'ang  became 
blind,  for  otherwise  there  might  have  been  no 
Christians  as  3^et  in  that  vicinit3\ 

Rev.  John  Ross,  D.D.,  well  known  for  his 
apostolic  labors  in  Manchuria,  visited  Tai-ping- 
kou  in  1890,  and  thus  testified  to  those  con- 
verted through  Ch'ang's  preaching: 

"  One  of  those  baptized,  named  Lin,  w^as  at 
one  time  a  highway  robber.  He  was  also  a 
heavy  opium  smoker,  and  guilty  of  most  of 
the  vices  of  vicious  China.  His  was  a  decided 
case  of  thorough  conversion.  A  look  into  the 
man's  face  showed  what  a  change  had  come 
over  him. 

' '  Next  to  him  stood  a  native  doc5lor,  close 
upon  seventy  years  of  age,  who  had  come 
from  a  long  distance  to  ask  for  baptism.  He 
had  heard  the  story  of  the  cross  from  an  old 
member.  He  wondered  whether  it  was  possi- 
ble that  God  could  display  such  mercy  as  to 
forgive  the  sins  of  a  lifetime.  Simple-minded 
as  a  child,  this  man  received  the  truth  with  joy. 

"  Beside  him  was  a  man  named  Chao,  who 
had  from  youth  up  earnestly  sought  after  truth. 


BLIND   APOSTLK   OF   MANCHURIA.         1 43 

He  had  become  a  stridl  ascetic  at  an  early  age, 
and  always  meditated  on  '  The  True. '  His  in- 
fluence afterward  became  so  great  that  over  a 
thousand  disciples  followed  his  lead,  and  prac- 
tised the  same  austerities  and  religious  forms. 
His  word  with  them  was  law.  (He  was  the 
local  leader  of  the  Hun  Yuen  secfl.)  A  more 
modest  man  I  have  not  met  in  Manchuria,  nor 
a  man  who  had  dived  so  deep  into  the  treasures 
of  truth.  The  questions  w^hich  he  constantly 
presented  showed  him  to  be  a  profound  thinker. 
His  one  great  regret  was  that  he  had  led  so 
many  men  in  search  of  peace,  '  on  the  wrong 
way.'  Most  of  his  disciples  are  well-to-do, 
and  he  loses  a  large  income  by  becoming  a 
Christian. 

' '  Close  by  this  man  stood  a  man  of  twenty- 
two,  a  disciple  of  the  last  mentioned.  His 
father  is  one  of  the  largest  landowners  in  that 
region.  His  parents  were  quite  willing  that 
he  should  be  baptized,  being  themselves  secret 
believers,  also  disciples  of  Chao. 

"The  fifth  was  a  blind  man,  formerly  a 
schoolmaster,   whose  peace  of  mind  was  well 


144  '^HK   MIRACIvKS   OF   MISSIONS. 

displayed  in  a  face  always  shining  with  the 
light  within.  Before  a  year  is  over,  each  of 
these  will  have  borne  his  own  fruit,  in  bringing 
others  in. 

' '  There  was  in  all  a  company  of  twenty- 
four  believers,  who  met  twice  daily  for  Chris- 
tian instrudlion.  They  certainly  seemed  like 
thirsty  ground  drinking  in  the  refreshing  rain. 
For  an  hour  each  time  I  spoke  on  some  Chris- 
tian truth,  and  when  done,  I  was  plied  with 
questions  to  elicit  further  instructions. ' ' 

In  1 89 1,  Rev.  James  Webster  once  more 
visited  the  distridl  of  Tai-ping-kou,  and  we  add 
his  testimony: 

''  Ch'ang  was  looking  stout  and  ruddy,  as  if 
his  frequent  fastings  had  done  him  no  harm. 

' '  Where  six  years  ago  we  stood  and  viewed 
the  wide  surrounding  country  wholly  given  to 
idolatry,  without  a  single  believer,  there  are 
now  upward  of  150  baptized  converts,  and  as 
many  more  who  believe,  and  who  will  ere  long 
proclaim  themselves  for  Christ.  But  that  does 
not  tell  half  the  story  of  blessing,  for  from  that 
valley  rays  of  Gospel  light  have  streamed  out 


BI,IND    APOSTI^K    OF    MANCHURIA.         1 45 

to  Other  villages  which  were  sitting  in  dark- 
ness, but  are  now  rejoicing  in  the  light.  Many 
are  the  imperfedlions  of  the  converts,  and 
great  is  their  need  for  further  instrudlion,  but 
their  word  has  been  wonderfully  owned  of 
God.  Truly  this  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is 
marvelous  in  our  eyes. ' ' 

In  1892,  the  year  of  persecution,  Ch'ang's 
converts  were  found  to  number  over  three 
hundred,  and  about  three  years  later,  fully  five 
hundred.  In  the  early  years  of  his  work,  Mr. 
Li,  his  first  convert,  was  his  assistant  in  teach- 
ing and  preaching;  and  in  1897  Mr.  Webster 
thus  sums  up  the  results  of  Ch'ang's  preaching: 

' '  The  work  in  Mai-mai-gai  was  certainly 
begun  by  him,  and  so  we  may  say  that  indi- 
redlly  the  church  in  that  region  owes  its  ex- 
istence, under  God,  to  blind  Ch'ang.  Several 
years  ago  he  went  to  another  distridl,  200 
miles  further  east,  and  began  a  work  there 
which  has  prospered  year  by  year,  and  is  one 
of  our  most  hopeful  stations  at  the  present 
moment.  Ch'ang  has  his  failings  like  every- 
body else,  but  take  him  all  around,  there  is  no 


146  THE   MIRACI.es   of   MISSIONS. 

more  earnest  or  successful  lay  evangelist  in 
Manchuria,  or  one  who  has  been  more  blessed 
of  God  in  winning  men  to  Christ.  Hundreds 
in  Manchuria  owe  their  Christian  faith  to  his 
diredl  agency,  and  hundreds  more  are  in  the 
church  to-day  as  the  fruits  of  the  seed  he  was 
privileged  to  sow.  He  has  been  the  means  of 
winning  more  men  for  Christ  than  any  other 
man  I  know." 

The  memory  of  this  blind  man  is  surprising. 
He  now  knows  by  heart  the  whole  of  the  New 
Testament,  the  Psalms,  and  several  other  Old 
Testament  books,  and  can  quote  them  with 
such  amazing  exadlness,  that  if  you  mention 
a  chapter  and  ask  him  to  repeat,  say  from  a 
certain  verse  to  the  end  of  another,  he  fault- 
lessly quotes  what  lies  between  these  limits, 
even  to  the  exadl  words  which  begin  and  end 
the  passage.  Surely  this  blind  apostle  of 
Manchuria  is,  as  we  said  at  the  beginning, 
himself  an  all- convincing  argument  for  the 
truth  and  power  of  the  Gospel,  and  his  zeal 
for  God  and  passion  for  souls  put  more  favored 
disciples  to  shame.     Who  can  estimate  by  any 


BLIND   APOSTLK   OF   MANCHURIA.         1 47 

mathematical  calculation  the  worth  of  one  such 
convert  to  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  How  vain 
to  raise  that  carnal  question,  "Do  Missions 
Pay?"  in  view  of  results  like  these,  which 
only  eternity  can  measure  or  weigh! 


No.  IX. 
Among  the  Little  Waifs  of  London.* 

|HE  ' '  Nestor  of  Home  Missions, ' ' 
as  Mr.  George  Holland  is  com- 
monly regarded,  is  almost  as  well 
known  in  the  United  States  as  in 
England.  Hosts  of  American  visitors  find 
their  way  to  this  famous  evangelical  center  to 
interview  the  grand  old  veteran,  and  to  study 
for  themselves  the  remarkable  cluster  of  Chris- 
tian and  philanthropic  agencies  which  have 
grown  up  around  him. 

The  locality  in  which  Mr.  Holland  labors  is 
one  of  the  poorest  and  most  dense  in  London. 
It  is  not  now,  however,  the  Whitechapel  of 
olden  times,  nor  even  of  forty -five  years  ago, 
when,  in  response  to  the  marvelous  leadings  of 
the  Lord,  these  institutions  were  first  begun  in 
humbleness   and   obscurity.     From    time   im- 


*  This  sketch   was   furnished  by   "Pearl  Fisher," 
the  late  Thomas  Paul. 

148 


Copyright  by  Elliott  &  Fry. 


Geo.  Holland. 

'The  Nestor  of  City  Missions. 


THE   LITTLE  WAIFS   OF  LONDON.         1 49 

memorial,  Whitechapel  has  been  the  dumping- 
place  of  the  crime  of  the  country  round  about, 
a  place  of  refuge  for  the  worst  desperadoes, 
criminals,  and  the  viciously  inclined.  Even 
forty  years  ago  when  the  work  was  first  started, 
the  distridl  was  infested  by  multitudes  of  the 
most  depraved  and  dangerous  classes.  Almost 
every  house  was  a  den  of  thieves  and  harlots, 
while  most  of  the  public  houses  were  common 
resorts  of  gangs  of  sharpers  and  criminals  of 
all  kinds.  Part  of  the  present  mission  build- 
ing acftually  stands  on  the  spot  occupied  for 
nearly  two  centuries  by  a  tavern  called  the 
'  *  Black  Horse, ' '  one  of  the  most  notorious  of 
such  dens.  It  is  said  to  have  been  labyrinthed 
by  secret  exits  and  cunning  contrivances  to 
facilitate  the  escape  of  fugitives  from  the  law. 
For  many  decades  these  baffled  the  ingenuity 
of  the  detedlives,  but  at  length  strong  measures 
were  adopted;  the  license  of  the  tavern  was 
canceled,  and  this  nest  of  crime  was  finally 
swept  away. 

' '  Thus, ' '  as  has  been  said,  ' '  the  headquarters 
of  the  George  Yard  Missions  are  pitched  on  an 


I50  THE   MIRACI.es   OE   MISSIONS. 

extindl  volcano;  the  main  block  being  built  on 
the  site  of  an  ancient  distillery,  and  the  shelter 
on  the  ground  formerly  occupied  by  the 
infamous  'Black  Horse,' — that  rendezvous 
of  highwaymen,  robbers,  and  murderers." 
Traces  of  these  evil  days  lingered  long  on  the 
premises.  A  large  drain-pipe  gave  much 
trouble  by  repeated  stoppages.  It  was  found 
to  be  choked  with  empt}^  purses,  which  had 
evidently  been  snatched  from  passers-b}^  rifled 
of  their  contents,  and  thrown  on  the  roof.  In 
the  early  days  of  the  mission  the  women  of 
the  courts  around  would  suddenly  all  blossom 
out  in  new  print  dresses,  "  all  of  a  pattern," 
as  the  result  of  a  raid  upon  some  dry  goods 
store.  The  second  day  on  which  Mr.  Holland 
first  visited  the  scene  of  his  future  labors,  a 
policeman,  with  kindly  intent,  tapping  him  on 
the  shoulder,  said,  *'  Do  you  know  where  you 
are  going.  Sir  ?  "  "  Yes,  I  do, "  was  the  reply. 
"Very  well,  all  that  I  can  say  is  that  many 
gentlemen  have  gone  down  there,  who  have 
never  appeared  again,  and  I  thought  I  must 
warn  you. ' ' 


THE   LITTLE   WAIFS   OF   LONDON.         151 

Happily  this  state  of  things  has  now  passed 
away.  Poor  as  the  districfl  is.  visitors  of  to- 
day may  venture  into  it  with  safety.  Crimin- 
als are  far  from  extindl,  but  law  and  order 
have  the  upper  hand.  At  one  time  the  cry  of 
' '  Stop  thief, ' '  might  resound  fifty  times  a  day 
in  High  Street,  now  it  is  of  rare  occurrence. 
It  might  not,  however,  be  advisable,  even  yet, 
for  a  visitor  to  flaunt  a  gold  chain  or  sparkling 
jewel  in  the  hungry  eyes  of  the  hanger-on  of 
Whitechapel  or  Mile  End  Waste.  But  the 
change  from  former  days  is  marvelous,  a 
change  which  has  undoubtedly  been  largely 
brought  about  by  the  beneficent  operations  of 
the  George  Yard  Ragged  School  Mission,  and 
similar  institutions.  During  the  great  dock 
strike,  which  shook  London  to  its  center,  the 
strikers— gaunt,  grim,  and  desperate— were 
marching  en  masse  past  the  mission  premises, 
when  a  socialistic  leader,  who  stood  watching, 
turned  to  Mr.  Holland,  and  said,  "Do  you 
know  what  keeps  these  men  from  sacking 
London  ? "  "  What  do  you  mean  ? ' '  was  the 
reply.      ''Only  this,  it  is  the  influence  of  such 


152  THE   MIRACLES   OP   MISSIONS. 

missions  of  mercy  as  3^ours."  All  thoughtful, 
observant  men  know  that  this  witness  is 
true. 

It  may  be  interesting  and  instrudlive  to  re- 
call the  origin  of  this  noble  and  useful  work. 
God  still  sele(fts  and  trains  men  of  His  own 
choosing  for  His  service  in  special  spheres.  It 
was  so  in  this  case.  Into  this  region  of  crime 
and  shame  and  misery  there  came,  forty-five 
years  ago,  a  young  man  wholly  without 
thought  of  any  special  labor  among  the  poor. 
His  purpose  was  to  ' '  read  ' '  with  the  incum- 
bent of  an  adjoining  church,  and  so  prepare 
himself  for  ordination  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Church  of  England.  But  God  had  other  plans 
for  George  Holland.  Introduced  into  White- 
chapel,  seemingly  by  chance,  he  saw  things  of 
which  he  had  never  dreamed  as  possible  in 
London.  His  heart  was  deeply  moved  at  the 
sight  of  youthful  depravity,  negledl,  and  suf- 
fering which  he  saw  on  every  side.  The  bur- 
den pressed  upon  his  soul,  and  without  thought 
of  any  future  vocation,  he  was  led — touched  in 
some  degree  by  that  compassion  which  welled 


THE    LITTLE   WAIFS   OP   LONDON.  153 

forth  from  the  heart  of  our  Lord  when  he  wept 
over  rebellious  Jerusalem- -to  gather  around 
him  a  few  ragged  boys  that  he  might  instrucft 
them  intelledlually  and  morally.     Unpromising 
material  they  undeniably  were.     Board  schools 
and  Sunday-schools  were  alike   unknown   to 
them.     Discipline  they  scouted ;  lessons  they 
abhorred.     Suspicion  and  distrust  were  deeply 
rooted  by  daily  contad:  with  lawless  and  cruel 
men.     With  such  boys  force  was  of  no  avail 
to  improve  their  condition.     If  anything  was 
to  be  done  for  them,  it  must  be  by  the  con- 
straint of  love.     To  mission-workers  of  to-day 
this  is  a  truism,  but  the  young  pioneer  of  forty 
years  ago  had  to  learn  it  by  experience.     Toil- 
some and  tedious  was  the  task,  but  love  and 
patience  prevailed.     Rude,   rough,  and  reck- 
less  as   his  first  boys  seemed,   heartbreaking 
and  hopeless  as  their  condition  appeared  to  be, 
the  youthful  but  earnest  worker  was  enabled 
by  God's  help  to  persevere  until  he  gained 
their  afcedlion  and  confidence.     So  completely 
did  he  win  them  that  they  walked  to  North 
London  twice  a  day  to  escort  him  to  and  from 


154  '^^HB    MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

Whitechapel.  Nor  did  this  clamorous  body- 
guard escape  public  notice.  The  dwellers  in 
that  quiet  neighborhood  in  North  London  were 
at  first  alarmed  at  the  invasion  of  these  fifty 
Whitechapel  urchins,  but  soon  found  that  they 
had  no  evil  intent.  These  early  and  unorgan- 
ized efforts  were  far  from  fruitless.  God  gave 
His  young  servant  much  encouragement,  so 
that  to-day  in  many  parts  of  the  world  there 
may  be  found  godly  and  prosperous  men,  who 
owe  their  well-being  to  these  early  endeavors 
in  Whitechapel. 

Mr.  Holland  soon  found  that  his  whole  time 
must  be  given  to  this  work,  and  he  settled 
down  to  labor  permanently  among  the  outcast 
and  negledled,  the  ragged  and  wretched  boys 
and  girls  of  Bast  London.  The  highways, 
courts,  and  alleys  of  Whitechapel  were  scoured, 
bringing  together  the  most  motley  and  gro^ 
tesque  assemblies  it  is  possible  to  imagine. 
Crowds  of  ill-fed,  ill-clad  children  were  col- 
ledled,  of  whom  scarcely  one  in  five  boasted 
shoes  and  stockings.  This  ' '  raw  material ' '  had 
a  kind  of  magnetic  attraction  for  George  Hoi- 


THE   WTTI^E  WAIFS   OF   LONDON.         1 55 

land;  to  mold  and  shape  it  for  God,  to  gather 
and  polish  these  rough  diamonds  for  his  Master 
became  the  aim  of  his  life.  He  made  many 
and  great  personal  sacrifices  in  order  to  devote 
himself  to  the  rescue  of  these  negledled  chil- 
dren, and  to  point  them  to  that  Savior  of  whom 
they  knew  as  little  as  the  ' '  untutored  Hotten- 
tot."  But  from  that  time  his  days  have  been 
devoted  with  singular  assiduity  and  simplicity 
of  purpose  to  the  service  whereunto  he  so  man- 
ifestly was  called. 

Work  of  this  kind  must  grow — it  is  the  law 
of  life.  A  little  dismal  room  was  secured  in 
George  Yard  for  the  first  class  of  rough  boys  ; 
but  the  children  thronged  in,  and  before  long 
provision  had  to  be  made  for  them.  This  ne- 
cessitated a  new  departure.  More  workers 
were  needed,  for  one  man  could  not  do  it  all. 
More  funds  were  required  to  furnish  suitable 
accommodations  and  appliances.  Both  of  these 
needs  were  left  with  God,  and  both  workers 
and  funds  were  provided  as  they  were  required. 
Mr.  Holland  says: 

"  Nothing  has  been  more  remarkable  in  the 


156  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

whole  history  of  the  mission  than  the  way  in 
which  every  lack  has  been  met — often  it  has 
seemed  nothing  less  than  miraculous.  Funds 
have  come,  we  know  not  how;  workers  have 
been  raised  up,  and  we  can  only  look  on  them 
as  sent  of  God.  We  have  been  wonderfully 
favored  with  devoted  workers,  belonging  to  all 
ranks  of  society.  Peeresses  have  been  among 
our  most  energetic  teachers.  Men  of  high 
rank  have  taught  in  the  classes,  side  by  side 
with  humble  costers  and  work  girls.  Some 
who  in  later  years  have  done  noble  service  for 
God,  first  caught  the  enthusiasm  in  our  Bast 
End  Mission  rooms.  We  can  never  forget  the 
service  rendered  by  the  Misses  Beauchamp 
and  their  devoted  brother,  now  an  honored 
missionary  in  China.  Nor  is  this  singular  in 
our  experience.  We  have  had  help  from  those 
moving  in  Royal  circles,  while  ladies  of  exalted 
rank  have  regularly  conducted  Bible  classes, 
traveling  in  some  cases  from  distant  country 
seats  on  purpose  to  meet  their  class,  and  re- 
turning home  again  in  the  evening. ' ' 

Mr.    Holland   tells   the    following   incident 


THK    LITTLE    WAIFS    OF    LONDON.  1 57 

showing  God's  care  for  those  who  trust 
Him: 

' '  One  very  cold  February  morning,  when 
the  snow  lay  thick  on  the  pavement,  about  350 
hungry  and  half-clad  children  stood  outside 
the  George  Yard  Mission  school.  The  news- 
papers that  morning  had  published  the  sad 
news  about  the  distress  that  existed  in  East 
London,  and  stated  that  some  had  perished 
from  want  and  exposure,  and  that  many  more 
were  starving. 

"  I  left  home  earlier  than  usual,  so  that  the 
children  should  be  admitted  into  the  lodge 
room,  and  be  able  to  warm  themselves  by  the 
fire.  The  door  was  opened  and  the  children 
were  admitted,  but  most  of  them  were  crying 
from  hunger  and  cold.  I  was  without  money. 
To  whom  could  I  turn  but  to  the  lyord.  We 
knelt  in  prayer,  and  told  God  about  our  dis- 
tress. We  waited,  but  no  food  came.  Twelve 
o'clock,  I  o'clock  came,  and  still  no  food.  At 
2  o'clock  a  poor  girl  (carrying  a  baby  in  her 
arms,  its  little  head  drooping)  said:  '  Please, 
may  I   go  and  ask    my  heavenly  Father  for 


158  THE   MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

food?'  She  retired,  and  on  returning  said: 
'I  think  He  has  heard  me.'  But  3  o'clock 
came,  and  still  no  food.  At  4  a  loud  knock- 
ing was  heard  as  the  door.  Outside  was  a 
large  wagon  in  charge  of  a  gentleman,  who 
asked: 

'  *  '  Do  you  want  any  food  ?  ' 

''  'Yes.' 

' '  It  took  four  men  to  lift  down  the  large  can 
of  good  soup  from  the  wagon,  and  carry  it 
inside  the  mission  room.  The  gentleman  left 
without  telling  his  name  or  how  he  came  to 
bring  the  soup,  or  where  he  came  from,  and 
bade  me  ask  no  questions.  He  would  send  for 
the  can.  '  You  will  find  that  it  is  coarsely 
made,'  he  said;  '  we  had  no  time  to  cut  up  the 
vegetables;  you  will  find  whole  onions,  carrots, 
heads  of  celery,  plenty  of  meat.' 

* '  The  children  were  sent  home  for  basins, 
and  returned  with  divers  kind  of  utensils; 
flower-pots,  with  the  hole  stopped  by  a  cork, 
broken  cups,  jars,  sauce-pans,  tin  cans — any- 
thing. While  we  were  in  the  midst  of  serving 
out  this  welcome  meal,  the  gentleman  returned, 


THE   IvlTTLE   WAIFS   OF   I^ONDON.         159 

and  said,  'You  can  not  do  without  bread.' 
He  handed  me  a  card,  on  which  was  written  a 
large  order  on  a  bakery  near  at  hand.  When 
asked  how  he  knew  that  we  were  in  need  of 
food,  he  replied: 

"  *  At  9  o'clock  this  morning  I  was  reading 
about  the  distress  in  the  papers.  We  had 
some  broken  food  in  the  house,  meat  and 
vegetables  were  purchased,  roughly  prepared, 
and  made  into  soup.  After  having  put  it  into 
the  can  I  started  for  Whitechapel  and  called  at 
the  baker's  shop,  where  I  purchased  the  bread, 
and  asked  if  they  knew  of  any  one  who  would 
like  to  have  the  soup.  They  sent  me  on  to 
you.'  " 

The  "  Children's  Karl,"  the  great  and  good 
lyord  Shaftesbury,  identified  himself  in  a 
special  manner  with  George  Yard,  spending 
hours  there  in  a  most  simple  and  homely  way, 
making  himself  perfedlly  free  and  happy  with 
the  poor  children,  and  speaking  constantly  of 
Mr.  Holland  as  a  personal  friend.  "  I  would 
rather, ' '  he  said,  ' '  be  George  than  ninety-nine 
hundredths  of  the  great  dead  and  living. ' '    The 


l6o  THK   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

Earl's  diary  has  many  such  references  to 
George  Yard  Mission,  and  ' '  that  inestimable 
man,  George  Holland."  Many  tokens  of  his 
regard  may  be  seen  at  the  mission,  where  also 
are  loyally  cherished  two  precious  volumes 
sent  by  her  Majesty,  Queen  Vidloria,  and 
inscribed  with  her  own  hand.  There  are  other 
gifts  inscribed  from  H.  R.  H.  the  Duchess  of 
Teck,  and  from  her  daughter.  Princess  May, 
now  the  Duchess  of  York.  These  fadls  are 
referred  to,  simply  to  show  the  way  in  which 
God  has  acknowledged  and  supported  this 
work.  To  omit  them  would  be  to  miss  one 
charadleristic  feature  of  the  institution,  in 
which  rich  and  poor  have  very  happily  been 
brought  together  in  a  way  helpful  to  both.  It 
may  also  be  recorded  that  in  this  East  End 
Mission  to  the  poor  and  outcast,  some  of 
the  rich  and  noble  have  been  converted  to 
God. 

The  work  which  began  with  the  children 
soon  included  their  elders.  In  early  days 
these  were  hard  to  reach.  For  a  long  time 
they  refused  even  to  come  into   the   mission 


THE    IvlTTl^K    WAIFS    OF   LONDON.  l6l 

rooms.  But  Mr.  Holland  would  not  be  dis- 
couraged. He  hired  a  little  room  in  a  blind 
alley,  and  there  began  to  hold  meetings  for 
them.  All  the  light  they  had  was  from  two 
candles  stuck  in  the  necks  of  bottles.  These 
meetings  went  on  very  well,  until  one  evening 
the  floor  caved  in  with  the  unaccustomed 
weight.  The  landlord,  a  Jew,  then  built  a 
small  hall,  into  which  were  gathered  many  of 
the  most  wretched  and  degraded. 

Meanwhile  the  work  at  the  central  mission 
was  growing  as  the  children  flocked  in  and 
workers  were  raised  up  by  God.  Day  schools 
were  started  for  the  illiterate  children,  and  are 
yet  maintained  with  great  efficiency.  Only  a 
short  time  ago,  in  paying  a  visit  to  these 
schools,  I  found  every  seat  occupied  by  children 
of  the  most  negledled  and  destitute  class,  who, 
while  learning  the  rudiments  of  arithmetic  and 
letters,  were  also  being  educated  in  Christian 
love,  cleanliness,  and  obedience.  The  same 
type  of  children  throng  the  Sunday-schools, 
morning,  afternoon,  and  evening,  each  Lord's 
day.     More  than  sixty  thousand  children  have 


1 62  THE   MIRACI.KS   OF   MISSIONS. 

passed  through  these  schools,  and  the  number 
of  the  redeemed  who  have  been  gathered  there, 
no  man  can  tell.  Innumerable  testimonials 
might  be  given  of  those  who  have  passed  in  to 
see  the  King,  and  of  others  who  are  still  serv- 
ing Him  as  pastors,  missionaries,  evangelists, 
teachers,  and  Christian  men  of  business. 

Dwelling  among  his  loved  children,  daily  ob- 
servant of  their  needs  and  temptations,  Mr. 
Holland  added  a  host  of  useful  agencies,  each 
with  its  definite  aim.  These  include  industrial 
and  sewing  classes  for  boys  who  have  never 
learnt  to  use  their  hands;  sewing  classes  for 
girls  and  women;  boys'  clubs,  to  keep  them 
from  the  evils  of  the  streets;  Bible  classes  for 
old  and  young;  games  and  recreation  classes 
for  the  little  ones;  free  meals  and  other  well- 
devised  plans  for  feeding  the  hungry  and  cloth- 
ing the  naked.  It  is  the  boast  at  George  Yard 
that  no  really  destitute  child  is  ever  sent  away 
hungry.  Moreover,  homeless  and  friendless 
waifs  frequently  turn  up,  and  these  are 
sheltered,  taught,  and  cared  for,  until  friends 
are  found,  or  they  are  ready  to  earn  their  own 


THE   IvITTLE   WAIFS   OF   LONDON.  163 

living.  There  is  also  a  creche  (or  day  nursery) , 
and  never  does  the  veteran  superintendent  seem 
more  happy  than  when  among  his  babies,  who 
throng  the  airy  nursery,  as  merry  with  their 
toys  and  nurses  as  the  day  is  long. 

The  work  among  the  young  people — particu- 
larly in  behalf  of  young  working-girls — has 
assumed  large  dimensions,  and  has  been  the 
means  of  saving  hundreds  from  treading  the 
path  of  sin  and  shame.  Classes,  clubs,  and 
reading-rooms  are  provided,  and  the  crown  was 
put  on  this  branch  of  the  work  not  long  ago 
by  the  opening  of  the  beautiful  Kinnaird  Room 
as  an  evening  resort  for  working-girls. 

The  evangelistic  services  at  the  mission  are 
deeply  interesting  by  reason  of  the  poverty  of 
those  who  attend.  In  few  places  in  London 
can  such  an  audience  be  found.  Five  or  six 
hundred  of  the  poorest  of  the  poor  may  be 
seen  gathered  here  any  Sunday  evening.  They 
listen  quietly  to  the  Gospel,  plainly  and  faith- 
fully spoken,  and  the  services  have  been  much 
owned  of  God.  But  in  addition  to  this,  the 
Gospel  is  also  carried  to  those  who  will  not  come 


1 64  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

to  hear;  workers  go  even  into  the  common 
lodging  houses,  the  last  miserable  resort  of  the 
fallen,  the  sinful,  the  self -destroyed.  Great 
difficulty  was  found  at  first  in  entering  these 
places,  but  now  a  welcome  is  given  to  the 
workers  who  are  brave  enough  to  face  such 
unutterable  abominations  of  a  common  kitchen 
that  they  may  have  an  opportunity  to  tell  of 
the  love  of  Christ  to  those  weak  and  wander- 
ing sheep.  Open-air  preaching  is  now  regu- 
larly carried  on  without  interruption  or  diffi- 
culty; but  in  the  pioneer  days  the  open-air 
preachers — often  Mr.  Holland  by  himself — had 
to  endure  much  fierce  opposition,  and  to  stand 
fire  in  the  shape  of  old  boots  and  bottles,  de- 
cayed vegetables,  and  many  viler  missiles.  The 
people  now  listen  respedlfuUy  and  willingly. 

The  master-vice  of  Whitechapel  being  in- 
temperance, the  mission  has  all  along  put 
Gospel  temperance  well  to  the  front,  and  for 
many  years  a  special  woman  missionary  has 
been  at  work,  going  from  house  to  house 
among  inebriate  women.  Many,  formerly 
slaves  to  strong  drink,  have,  by  patient  en- 


THE   LITTLE   WAIFS   OF   LONDON,         165 

deavor  and  tireless  watchfulness,  been  freed 
•from  slavery  to  this  accursed  and  soul-destroy- 
ing habit.  A  weekly  meeting  is  held  for  the 
reclaimed  drunkards,  and  their  testimonies  and 
fervent  prayers  for  others  still  enslaved,  are 
singularly  inspiring,  though  often  decidedly 
unconventional.  There  are  also  bands  of  hope 
and  total  abstinence  societies  vigorously  and 
effedlively  at  work. 

Far  away  from  dingy  Whitechapel,  but  con- 
neded  with  this  work,  a  beautiful  colony  has 
been  established  by  the  generosity  of  Lady 
Ashburton  on  her  estate  at  Addiscombe.  This 
colony  includes  the  ' '  Mary  Baring  Nest, ' '  for 
aiHng  children;  the  "  Louisa  Lady  Ashburton 
Rest,"  for  worn  out  and  convalescent  parents; 
and  the  "George  Holland  Dovecot  Home," 
for  mothers  and  infants.  To  these  has  lately 
been  added  an  iron  room  for  evangelistic  and 
other  services.  All  these  were  eredled  and  are 
maintained  by  her  ladyship  on  behalf  of  Mr. 
Holland's  poor.  Moreover,  H.  R.  H.  the  late 
Duchess  of  Teck  regularly  received,  two  by 
two,  poor  women,  for  three  weeks  at  a  time, 


1 66  THE  MIRACLES  OF   MISSIONS. 

at  her  cottage  near  the  White  Lodge,  in 
Coombe  Wood,  her  usual  residence.  Another 
branch  is  the  Training  Home  for  Motherless 
Girls,  now  situated  at  Addiscombe,  but  origin- 
ally opened  by  Miss  Marsh  and  her  sister,  Mrs 
Chalmers,  at  Beckenham.  Large  numbers  of 
friendless  and  endangered  girls  have  passed 
through  this  home,  and  are  now  in  service  or  in 
homes  of  their  own.  Still  another  beautiful 
holiday  home  for  poor  children  from  George 
Yard  was  eredted  by  Mr.  H.  Barclay  at  Great 
Bookham,  in  memory  of  a  dear  friend,  and  in 
place  of  an  expensive  monument.  But,  in. 
deed,  the  story  of  such  love  gifts  is  well  nigh 
endless.  At  the  mission  center  itself  block 
after  block  has  been  added,  as  need  arose,  by 
stewards  of  God,  who  have  been  content  to  re- 
main unknown.  To  attempt  to  chronicle  all 
the  tokens  of  a  Father's  loving  hand,  which 
have  signalized  the  history  of  George  Yard, 
would  be  a  hopeless  undertaking.  From  first 
to  last  it  has  been  evident  to  all  beholders  that, 
working  in  the  line  of  the  Divine  purpose,  the 
blessing  of  the  Lord  has  rested  upon  it.    Trials 


THB  LITTLE   WAIFS  OP  LONDON.         1 67 

of  faith,  failures,  and  disappointments  have 
not  been  lacking,  but  out  of  them  all  God  gave 
deliverance.  Like  that  other  veteran  of  faith, 
George  Miiller,  George  Holland  has  proved 
afresh  in  the  eyes  of  men  that  he  who  trusteth 
in  Jehovah  shall  not  be  put  to  shame. 


No.  X. 

The  Open  Door  Into  Ecuador. 

by  geo.  s.  fisher. 

FEW  days  of  tossing  on  the  sea,  a 
short  ride  across  the  Isthmus,  a 
calm  journey  down  the  coast  and 
"Over  the  line,"  four  days  of 
travel  on  mule-back,  toiling  up  the  mountains, 
a  wet,  cold  night  in  a  shepherd's  hut  on  old 
Chimborazo,  14,000  feet  above  the  sea,  a  day 
and  a  half  by  stage,  and  I  arrived  in  sight  of 
Quito — a  city  whose  history  is  shrouded  with 
a  record  of  licentiousness,  murder,  rapine,  tor- 
ture, ignorance,  and  superstition — all  that  cruel 
Spain,  the  unscrupulous  priests,  and  inhuman 
rulers  could  make  it;  but  the  streams  have 
washed  the  blood  away,  the  rocks  are  dumb, 
and  she  still  lies  at  the  feet  of  old  Pichincha, 
fair  and  beautiful,  and,  thank  God,  I  believe 
16S 


THE  OPEN  DOOR  INTO  ECUADOR.   169 

that  for  her  the  first  rays  of  light  are  streaking 
the  mountains  and  the  morning  dawneth  when 
there  shall  be  here  sounded  out  the  true  and 
glorious  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God. 

A  few  mornings  after  my  arrival  I  climbed 
the  mountain  for  a  short  distance,  and  sat 
down  to  pray  to  the  Great  Creator  and  to  look 
over  the  city.  Though  10,000  feet  above  the 
sea,  Quito  is  situated  in  a  valley  almost  sur- 
rounded by  mountains,  and  three  or  four  snow- 
capped peaks  are  to  be  seen  on  a  clear  day, 
among  them  the  lofty  whitened  head  of  Coto- 
paxi,  some  18,000  feet  high.  It  is  not  now  an 
acflive  volcano,  but  sends  forth  enough  light 
steam  to  form  a  cloud  that  appears  to  sit  upon 
its  brow  like  a  silvery  plume.  The  city  con- 
tains 60,000  people,  and  is  built  very  compadl- 
ly,  the  streets  are  paved,  and  fountains  where 
the  drinking  water  is  obtained,  play  in  all  the 
principal  piazzas,  while  numerous  streams  of 
water  run  through  the  city  underground.  The 
climate  is  quite  cold,  plenty  of  rain  falls,  and 
hail  is  not  infrequent.  But  a  few  hours  dis- 
tant hot  valleys  are  reached,  while  wheat,  corn, 


lyo  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

potatoes,  etc.,  are  raised  in  other  parts,  so  that 
the  markets  are  well  supplied  with  eatables, 
which  are  generally  sold  very  cheap.  The 
best  restaurant  in  the  city  serves  meals — about 
five  courses — for  twenty  cents,  and  house-rent 
is  quite  reasonable.  Wool  abounds,  and  some 
very  good,  but  coarse  cloth  is  manufactured. 
Almost  the  entire  work  of  the  city  is  performed 
by  the  Indians,  and  their  powers  of  endurance 
are  marvelous,  but  they  are  poorly  paid,  and 
are  kept  in  ignorance  and  poverty. 

Perhaps  one-fourth  of  the  city  is  occupied 
by  churches,  convents,  etc. — one  of  the 
churches  with  its  attachments  covering  nearly 
two  entire  blocks,  and  enclosed  with  a  great 
high  wall.  From  the  days  of  the  killing  of 
Atahualpa,  king  of  the  Incas,  by  the  Spanish 
troops,  to  the  present  time,  the  Indians  have 
been  treated  very  much  as  were  the  children 
of  Israel  under  Pharaoh.  The  Catholic  relig- 
ion has  been  supreme,  the  Bible  is  almost 
unknown,  and  the  priests  have  become  rich 
and  wanton,  and  are  the  fathers  of  many  of 
the  inhabitants.     I  have  met  here  one  of  the 


THE  OPEN  DOOR  INTO  ECUADOR.    I7I 

chief  priests  of  the  Cathedral,  who,  it  is  be- 
lieved, poisoned  the  Archbishop,  because  he 
spoke  against  their  evil  pradlices — at  any  rate, 
the  Bishop  drank  of  the  communion  cup  and 
fell  dead.  Sermons  are  no  longer  preached,  but 
dozens  of  bells  seem  never  to  cease  their  clang- 
ing, calling  the  people  to  their  idolatrous  wor- 
ship. Images  are  to  be  seen  almost  every- 
where, and  feast  days  to  certain  saints  are  most 
numerous.  Processions  march  the  streets, 
men  with  lighted  candles,  and  the  priest,  ar- 
rayed in  his  vestments,  walking  under  a  can- 
opy carried  by  a  boy,  on  his  wa}^  to  administer 
* '  Extreme  Unction  ' '  to  the  dying,  while  men 
take  off  their  hats  and  women  fall  upon  their 
knees  on  the  pavement.  This  very  day  I  saw 
a  number  of  horrid  looking  images  carried 
about  the  city,  before  whom,  I  suppose,  some 
time  or  other,  the  faithful  are  to  fall  down  and 
worship.  Nuns  have  been  paid  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  teach  the  Indian  children,  but  only 
attempted  to  instrucft  them  so  that  they  could 
read  mass.  Many  of  the  people  live  together 
as  man  and  wife  without  being  married,  be- 


172  THE    MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

cause  the  priests  charge  such  an  exorbitant 
sum  for  performing  the  marriage  service.  All 
sorts  of  means  are  used  to  obtain  money  from 
the  now  poverty-stricken  people.  Colledlions 
are  taken  up  in  a  silver  box  with  a  crucifix 
attached;  the  people  kiss  the  image  and  drop 
their  money  in  the  box.  Even  the  dead  are  not 
at  rest,  for,  unless  the  grave-rent  is  kept  paid 
up,  the  remains  will  be  exhumed  and  carried 
to  the  burn  pile.  I  do  not  wonder  that  in  his 
day  lyUther's  soul  was  moved  within  him  until 
he  was  forced  to  cry  aloud.  Oh,  that  to-day 
our  God  would  help  us  confess  our  own  sin — 
the  sins  of  the  professing  Christians  of  our  own 
land;  and  then  cry  mightily  for  the  desolate 
blinded  people  of  this  country,  tottering  fast 
into  the  grave  and  utter  darkness  forever ! 

Some  thirty-three  years  ago,  under  the  reign 
of  President  Morena  (the  Tyrant),  a  large 
number  of  foreign  priests  were  brought  into 
the  country  to  help  him  "hold  the  people." 
He  was  finally  stabbed  as  he  came  out  of  the 
cathedral,  and  from  the  date  of  his  death,  about 
1880,  until  three  or  four  years  ago,  there  was 


THE  OPEN  DOOR  INTO  ECUADOR.    1 73 

no  Strong  or  lasting  government.  The  liberals 
desired  many  changes  and  struggled  a  little, 
but  the  priests  and  church  party  were  so  firmly 
entrenched,  that  there  seemed  to  be  no  possible 
means  of  gaining  a  vi^ory.  But  our  God  had 
heard  the  cries  of  the  poor  downtrodden 
people,  and  was  making  ready  his  chariot  of 
deliverance.  His  ways  are  not  our  ways, 
but  He  maketh  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
Him. 

Japan,  when  at  war  with  China,  wished 
to  buy  from  Chili  the  warship  ' '  Esmer- 
alda," but  under  some  treaty  or  interna- 
tional law  Chili  could  not  sell  to  Japan, 
without  probable  trouble.  Ecuador  being  con- 
sidered a  small  obscure  nation,  it  w^as  suggested 
by  Chili  that  the  ship  take  the  Ecuadorian  flag 
and  be  sold  as  her  vessel.  The  president,  the 
governor  at  Guayaquil,  and  the  consul  at  New 
York  entered  into  the  agreement,  and,  it  is 
said,  received  $400,000  for  the  sale  of  the 
Ecuadorian  flag,  as  the  transacftion  was  termed. 
In  some  way  the  adlion  became  known,  a  revo- 
lution was  started  at  Guayaquil,  and  the  pres- 


174  'I'HE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

ident  was  obliged  to  flee.  The  old  govern- 
ment being  conservative,  i.  e.,  for  the  clergy, 
the  liberals  of  course  now  came  to  the  front. 
A  ' '  Hunta, ' '  or  meeting  of  the  leading  men  of 
Guayaquil,  was  called  and  they  decided  to  send 
for  Gen.  Alfaro,  who  had  been  fighting  for 
liberty  for  many  years,  but  for  some  time 
past  had  been  exiled  in  Central  America, 
and  proclaimed  him  ''Jefe  Supremo."  He 
came  at  once,  bringing  with  him  Gen. 
Franco,  who  had  also  been  exiled  as  a  liberal. 
From  Guayaquil  Gen.  Alfaro  marched  with  his 
troops  up  country,  taking  the  cities  as  he  went, 
and  without  very  much  of  a  struggle,  occupied 
Quito,  the  capital.  His  officers  and  soldiers 
then  began  the  work  of  taking  the  different 
provinces  and  cities,  and  an  eledlion  was  soon 
ordered  for  delegates  for  a  convention  to  reform 
the  constitution  and  eledl  a  president.  There 
are  no  real  eledlions  in  any  part  of  South 
America — the  ruling  officer  simply  reelects 
himself  with  the  aid  of  his  troops,  or  designates 
some  friend  for  whom  the  few  votes  are  cast, 
and  Gen.   Alfaro' s  men  were,   of  course,   all 


THE  OPEN  DOOR  INTO  ECUADOR.   175 

eledled.  Trouble,  however,  arose  at  Cuenca 
in  the  South,  and  the  general  was  obliged  to 
go  once  more  to  battle.  After  quite  a  severe 
fight  Cuenca  was  taken  and  the  country 
quieted. 

On  taking  hold  of  the  country  Gen.  Alfaro 
at  once  stopped  the  payment  of  state  money  to 
the  church — perhaps  a  million  sucres  per  year, 
or  $500,000.  He  also  found  that  the  priests 
were  the  strong  enemies  of  his  party,  and  were 
using  their  vast  wealth  and  power  against  the 
government;  he  therefore  confiscated  some  of 
their  property,  and  they  were  pretty  thoroughly 
driven  out  of  the  Oriente  and  the  province  of 
Manibe,  and  a  number  of  them  were  exiled. 
Three  o'clock  in  the  morning  was  the  regular 
time  for  confession  and  mass,  and  as  few  people 
but  women  attended  at  this  hour,  and  the 
priests  were  probably  using  the  churches  for 
immoral  purposes,  he  ordered  that  the  churches 
should  not  be  opened  until  five  o'clock.  The 
archbishop  instrudled  the  priests  to  stir  up  the 
people  against  the  government,  until  he  was 
in  a  measure  silenced,  and  he  then  pretended 


176  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

that  his  life  was  in  danger,  and  that  he  had  left 
his  palace  and  was  in  hiding  in  the  city.  Un- 
doubtedly the  priests  and  church  party  under- 
stood that  a  change  had  taken  place,  but  the 
conservatives  had  much  of  the  wealth  of  the 
country,  and  the  priests  have  never  been 
known  to  give  up. 

Gen.  Franco  was  next  to  Gen.  Alfaro  in  com- 
mand of  the  troops,  and  was  stationed  in  this 
city.  He  was  supposed  to  rule  with  a  much 
stronger  hand  than  the  president,  and  he 
was  much  feared.  He  placed  the  city  under 
martial  law,  and  the  whistle  of  the  sentinels 
da}^  and  night  on  nearly  every  corner,  the 
concerts  given  by  the  two  military  bands,  with 
soldiers  attached,  the  marching  of  the  troops 
through  the  streets,  all  told  the  people  that  a 
ruler  was  in  their  midst. 

A  conspiracy  was  formed  to  assassinate  him, 
but  it  was  discovered,  the  head  man  apprehended 
in  the  morning  and  shot  at  4  P.  M.  This 
caused  quite  a  stir,  and  Mr.  Morla,  the  head 
government  minister,  and  others  resigned,  but 
the  general  seemed  not  at  all  disturbed  and 


the:  open  door  into  Ecuador.  177 

walked  or  rode  in  the  streets  with  a  friend  or 
two,  and  held  the  key  to  the  city.  Both 
Gen.  Alfaro  and  Gen.  Franco  received  the 
writer  very  kindly,  and  offered  any  assistance 
in  their  power. 

I  found  here  a  small  grammar  of  the 
Quichua  language,  printed  in  Spanish,  and 
had  a  short  conversation  with  a  nun  who 
had  been  in  the  Oriente  for  seven  or  eight  years 
as  a  teacher  for  the  Indian  children.  Archi- 
dona,  the  capital  of  that  province,  is  over  the 
eastern  range,  and  some  seven  or  eight  days 
distant,  but  there  are  no  roads,  and  a  person 
must  walk  or  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  Indians. 
That  town  is,  however,  only  two  or  three  days 
from  the  Napo  river,  at  a  point  where  it  can 
be  navigated  by  small  vessels  to  its  confluence 
with  the  Amazon.  The  country  is  supposed 
to  be  healthy,  and  parts  of  it  are  inhabited  by 
tribes  of  wild  Indians  who  speak  diale(5ls  of 
their  own. 

I  found  quite  a  number  of  people  who  are 
now  openly  opposed  to  the  church  and  the 
priests,   and  while  I  believe  that  during  the 


178  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

past  years  brave,  wise,  Holy  Ghost  laborers 
could  have  lived  here,  and  possibly  with  much 
persecution  disseminated  a  good  deal  of  Gos- 
pel, I  could  now  see  no  reason  why  God's 
chosen  workers  should  not  come  here  very 
soon.  However  changeable  the  people  may 
be,  and  whatever  may  in  the  future  befall  the 
present  liberal  rulers,  our  God  still  sits  upon 
the  throne,  and  He  is  well  able  to  care  for  His 
own  so  that  they  may  glorify  His  Son  in  life 
or  even  in  death. 

The  Gospel  Union,  with  headquarters  at 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  has  already  undertaken  a 
work  for  this  country.  L<aborers  are  now  at 
Guayaquil.     Brethren,  pray  for  us. 

}fC  jjj  >{;  >fc 

At  the  annual  summer  Bible  School  of  the 
Gospel  Union,  held  at  Crete,  Neb.  (July  17  25, 
1895),  it  pleased  God  to  pour  out  upon  the 
Christians  there  assembled  an  unusual  spirit 
of  prayer  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world. 
Without  premeditation  they  were  led  to  pray 
especially  for  the  opening  up  of  South  America 
to  the  Gospel,  and  the  sending  forth  of  mis- 


THE  OPEN  DOOR  INTO  ECUADOR.   179 

sionaries  to  that  land.     The  interest  culmin- 
ated in  an  all-night  prayer-meeting,   and  an 
offering  of  money,  jewelry,  etc.,  amounting  in 
all  to  about  $150.00  for  the  opening  of  a  new 
mission    in    the    Negledled    Continent.      To 
human   eyes   this   was   the   beginning  of  the 
work  which  has  since  resulted  in  the  sending 
of   four   missionaries   to   the   hitherto   closed 
country  of  Ecuador.     We  say,  to  human  eyes, 
for  in  the  councils  of  God  the  work  had  been 
begun  before  our  prayers  were  offered.     It  is 
well  known  that  by  the  Constitution  of  Ecua- 
dor  all   forms   of   religion,    save   the  Roman 
Catholic,   are  prohibited  from  being  preached 
or  taught,   and  the  fanaticism  of   the  Jesuit 
priests,  by  whom  the  country  is  overrun,  had 
served   to   reenforce   the   law,  and  make  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  there  exceedingly  dif- 
ficult and  dangerous,  if  not  impossible;  and 
the  result  had  been  that  there  had  never  been 
any  settled  Protestant  missionary  Vv-ork  under- 
taken  in   the   country.      There   have   arisen, 
however,  from  time  to  time  in  Ecuador,  some 
who    have   opposed    this   policy    by   pen  and 


l8o  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

sword,  and  who  have  attempted  to  bring  about 
such  a  revolution  in  the  government  that  the 
Constitution  might  be  so  revised  as  to  grant 
religious  toleration;  but  this  liberal  party  had 
been  hopelessly  in  the  minority,  the  conserva- 
tive element  controlling  both  the  mass  of  the 
people  and  the  wealth  of  the  country,  while 
behind  it  was  the  tremendous  power  of  the 
Jesuit  priesthood.  But  God  was  working  for 
Ecuador.  Almost  simultaneously  with  the 
Kansas  Bible  School  a  revolution  was  inau- 
gurated, which  went  forward  until  Gen. 
Alfaro  v/as  elec5led,  the  first  liberal  presi- 
dent of  the  Republic;  the  Constitution  has 
been  revised,  and  we  have  now  every  reason  to 
believe  that  religious  toleration  has  been 
granted. 

It  seems  to  us  that  under  such  clear  leadings 
of  the  Providence  of  God,  there  is  nothing  for 
us  to  do  but  to  send  out  missionaries  as  rapidly 
as  God  may  permit  us  to  do  so.  The  faith  of 
the  people  in  the  Jesuits  is  shaken,  the  doors 
are  opened  inviting  Protestant  missionaries  to 
enter,  and  now  is  the  time  to  move  forward 


th:^  opkn  door  into  Ecuador.   i8i 

before  the  country  shall  settle  back  into  infi- 
delity and  atheism,  or  invite  the  priesthood  to 
resume  control.  Delay  at  this  time  may  mean 
(as  in  the  case  of  others  of  the  South  American 
countries)  a  relapse  into  a  condition  worse 
than  that  from  which  it  is  now  emerging. 


No.  XI. 

The  Isles  Waiting  For  God's  Law.* 

by  rev.    john   g.    paton,    d.d. 

Pioneer  Missionary  in  the  New  Hebrides. 

]EOGRAPHERS  have  arranged  the 
South    Sea    islands    under    three 
divisions :     Polynesia,    the    many 
eastern   islands   between    i8o    de- 
grees  and   South    America ;    Melanesia,    the 

*  Balboa,  governor  of  Santa  Maria,  discovered  the 
Southern  Ocean  in  1513,  named  it  the  South  Sea,  and 
took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Spain. 
Six  years  later  Magellan  sailed  through  a  large  por- 
tion of  it,  and  called  it  the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  1569 
Mendana  discovered  and  named  the  Solomon  group, 
and  in  1595  the  Queen  Charlotte  group.  The  New 
Hebrides  were  discovered  in  1606  by  Quiros,  who 
thought  he  had  discovered  a  great  southern  conti- 
nent, and  called  it  the  Land  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He 
anchored  in  port  Philip  Santo,  and  tried  to  establish 
a  city  (New  Jerusalem)  on  the  bank  of  the  large  river 
Yor,  which  runs  into  the  bay.  But  the  Spaniards 
quarreled  with  the  natives  and  left  it.  Quiros  sailed 
to  Mexico,  but  Torres,  the  senior  officer  in  command, 
sailed  west,  discovered  and  passed  through  Torres 
Straits,  which  bear  his  name,  between  Queensland 


ISLES   WAITING   FOR   GOD'S   LAW.         1 83 

black  islands,   from  the  dark-brown  color  of 

their  inhabitants — they  include  Fiji  and  all  the 

islands  west,   with  New  Guinea;  Micronesia, 

all  the  small  islands  north  of  the  line  from 

Hawaii  on  the  east  to  China  on  the  west.   The 

South  Sea  islands  are  inhabited  by  only  two 

races,  the  Malay  Polynesian  and  the  Papuan. 

The  Malays  appear  to  be  of  Asiatic  origin,  and 

and  New  Guinea.  Boginville  discovered  that  it  was 
not  a  continent,  but  a  group  of  islands,  which  Quiros 
had  discovered,  and  he  named  them  the  Great  Cy- 
clades.  Bent  on  discovering  new  lands,  about  that 
period  many  eminent  navigators  sailed  in  the  South 
Sea,  but  we  hear  nothing  more  of  the  New  Hebrides 
till,  in  1767,  the  famous  Captain-  Cook  sailed  on  his 
first  voyage  to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus  at  Tahiti. 
In  1773  Captain  Cook  returned,  and  sailed  twice 
through  the  group,  spending  46  days  in  exploring 
and  describing  every  island  and  the  natives  with  an 
accuracy  scarcely  yet  surpassed.  Believing  he  had 
discovered  the  most  westerly  group  in  the  South  Sea, 
he  gave  it  its  present  name,  the  New  Hebrides;  but 
200  miles  southwest  he  afterward  discovered  another 
large  island,  and  called  it  New  Caledonia.  He  took 
possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign,  King 
George  the  Third;  but  in  1854,  when  Britain  was  en- 
gaged in  the  Crimean  war,  France  took  possession  of 
it,  and  turned  it  into  a  large  convict  station  at  the 
door  of  Australia,  to  which,  by  escaped  convicts,  it 
is  a  source  of  danger  and  pollution. — J.  G.  P. 


1 84  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

are  the  superior  race,  with  well-developed, 
powerful  persons,  yellow  in  color,  and  with 
straight,  glossy,  black  hair.  The  Papuans 
are  so  called  from  Papua,  or  New  Guinea. 
They  occupy  the  western  islands,  and  are  not 
generally  so  tall  and  handsome  in  person  as 
the  Malays.  They  are  of  a  dark-brown  color, 
with  dark,  curly  hair  of  different  shades,  and 
appear  to  be  allied  to  the  negro;  but  have 
plump,  pleasant  features,  unlike  the  negro  and 
the  aborigines  of  Australia.  The  Malays  all 
speak  one  language,  with  dialedlic  differences, 
all  musical  and  liquid,  like  the  Italian.  Every 
word  ends  in  a  vowel.  The  Papuans  speak  a 
different  language  on  almost  every  island,  or 
dialecfts  differing,  so  that  the  natives  of  one 
island  can  not  understand  those  of  another ; 
and  in  some  groups,  two  or  even  three  dialedls 
are  spoken  on  the  same  island,  so  different 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  one  distridl  can  not 
understand  those  of  the  other.  Nearl}^  the 
whole,  if  not  the  whole,  population  of  the 
South  Sea  islands  were  cannibals,  in  a  state  of 
nudity,  when  missionary  work  was  begun  on 


ISLES   WAITING    FOR    GOD'S   LAVv\         1 85 

them;  yet  even  there,  by  God's  blessing, 
almost  every  society  and  church  engaged  in  the 
work  has  been  used  and  honored  in  the  con- 
version of  many  thousands,  and  now  each  is 
working  on  an  independent  portion  of  New 
Guinea  for  the  salvation  of  its  natives,  and 
with  encouraging  success. 

The  New  Hebrides  consist  of  about  thirt}- 
inhabited  islands,  with  many  small  ones 
adjoining.  The  group  lies  south-southeast  and 
north-northwest,  extending  over  400  miles  of 
ocean,  between  21  degrees  and  15  degrees 
south  latitude,  and  171  degrees  and  166  de- 
grees east  longitude.  The  Solomon  group, 
which  is  the  center  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land's mission,  is  about  200  miles  northwest 
from  the  New  Hebrides.  New  Caledonia  is 
about  200  miles  southwest,  Fiji  about  400 
miles,  Auckland  about  1,000,  and  Sydney, 
Australia,  1,400  miles  distant  from  our  group. 
In  her  first  charter  to  New  Zealand,  Britain 
included  the  New  Hebrides,  but,  apparently 
by  some  mistake,  they  were  afterward  left  out. 
Yet,   except  to  New  Zealand   and  Australia, 


1 86  THK   MIRACLES    OF    MISSIONS. 

the  group  is  of  little  commercial  value  to  any 
other  country,  on  account  of  the  great  dis- 
tances of  all  others  from  it. 

As  the  natives  have  got  nearly  all  the  bless- 
ings of  Christianity  and  civilization  which 
they  possess,  from  British  missionaries  and 
subjecfls,  they  unanimously  plead  for  British 
annexation  and  protedlion  ;  while,  from  the 
oppressive  cruelty  of  the  French  to  the  natives, 
and  their  suppression  of  Protestant  schools  and 
mission  work  on  the  lyOyalty  group  and  on  other 
groups  annexed,  they  fear  and  hate  them. 
There  are  other  cogent  reasons,  for  the  French 
Senate  passed  a  resolution  "to  send  100,000 
of  France's  lowest  criminals  to  the  New 
Hebrides,  as  freed  men  and  women,  to  live  as 
they  could  and  go  where  they  would,  on  the 
one  condition  that  they  do  not  return  to 
France. ' '  Against  this  Australasia  and  Britain 
protested  so  decidedly  that  the  scheme  was  not 
carried  out;  but  the  resolution  to  deport  them 
was  renewed,  and  for  the  present  the  destina- 
tion is  kept  secret.  The  French  have  recently 
been  sending  Roman  Catholic  priests  to  the 


ISLES   WAITING   FOR   GOD's   LAW.         1 87 

New  Hebrides,  apparently  as  political  agents. 
A  few  months  ago  the  heathen  natives  of  one 
of  our  islands  eagerly  desired  a  Protestant 
missionary  to  settle  among  them,  and  give 
them  the  teaching  of  Jesus  and  His  salvation, 
and  when  they  were  selling  our  missionaries  a 
site  for  the  station,  two  priests  gave  them 
much  abuse,  and  told  them  of  all  the  fearful 
calamities  which  would  befall  them  if  they 
allowed  the  Protestant  missionaries  to  land  on 
their  island.  These  priests  also  gave  the  mission- 
aries much  abuse,  and  at  lasi  offered  the  natives 
three  Sniders  (rifles)  and  two  large,  fat  hogs 
for  the  site,  if  they  would  forbid  the  Protes- 
tant missionaries  to  settle  on  the  island. 
Though,  above  everything  else,  the  heathen 
islanders  desire  Sniders  and  such  fat  pigs,  yet 
they  rejedled  the  priests'  offer,  and  sold  the 
station  to  our  missionaries.  The  highest 
French  officials  in  these  colonies  have  sent  a 
man-of-war  to  the  spot  to  investigate  this  case, 
and  their  report  proves  that  it  was  corredlly 
stated  by  us. 

In   1839  the  famous  John  Williams  and  Mr. 


1 88  THE   MIRACLES   OE   MISSIONS. 

J.  Harris,  of  the  I^ondon  Missionary  Society, 
sailed  to  try  and  begin  mission  work  on  the 
New  Hebrides,  but  on  landing  on  Erromanga 
both  were  murdered  by  the  savages,  who 
feasted  on  their  bodies.  In  1843  Drs.  Turner 
and  Nisbet  were  by  the  London  Missionary 
Society  settled  on  Tanna,  but  about  six 
months  after,  they  had  to  escape  for  their  lives 
by  a  passing  ship.  After  this  Samoan  and 
Raratongan  native  teachers  were  again  and 
again  placed  on  the  group,  but  they  were  either 
murdered  by  the  savages,  or  died  in  the  damp, 
unhealthy  climate  (comparatively  with  their 
own) ,  or  in  sickness  had  to  be  taken  home  again. 
So  no  effedlive  mission  work  was  done  on  the 
group  till  in  1848  Dr.  John  Geddie,  and  in 
1852  Dr.  John  Inglis,  landed  on  Aneityum, 
where  God  spared  and  used  them  in  bringing 
3,500  cannibals  on  that  island  to  serve  our 
dear  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  the  work  re- 
ceived great  impetus,  when  they  had  trans- 
lated and  carried  through  the  press  the  whole 
Bible  and  other  books  in  their  language. 
For  the  printing  and  binding  of  this  Bible  the 


isi.es  waiting  for  god's  law.      189 

converted  natives  paid  the  noble  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  ;^i,200  sterling  ($6,- 
000) ,  earned  by  them  in  preparing  and  selling 
arrowroot. 

In  1857  the  Rev.  G.  N.  and  Mrs.  Gordon 
were  placed  on  Erromanga,  where  Williams 
lost  his  life.  By  them  God  brought  some  four- 
teen young  men  and  as  many  young  women  to 
renounce  heathenism  and  serve  Jesus,  but  in 
1 85 1  the  savages  one  morning  tomahawked  both 
these  missionaries  to  death.  Their  young  con- 
verts wept  and  wailed  over  their  loss,  laid  them 
in  the  grave,  and  vowed  over  it  that  they  would 
conquer  Erromanga  for  Jesus,  or  die,  as  their 
missionaries  had  died,  in  the  effort.  In  1864 
the  Rev.  J.  D.  Gordon,  going  to  convert,  if 
possible,  the  murderers  of  his  brother  and  his 
wife,  was  placed  on  Erromanga,  and,  after 
much  successful  work,  the  heathen  there 
killed  him  also  with  the  tomahawk  in  1872. 
The  Christian  party  laid  his  body  in  the  grave, 
wept  and  wailed  over  it,  and  renewed  their 
vow,  and  wrought  and  prayed  till  they  have, 
indeed,  conquered  the  island  for  Jesus  Christ. 


190  THK   MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

Now  every  family  there  daily  sings  the  praise 
of  His  redeeming  love,  and  tries  to  serve  him 
devotedly. 

In  1858  the  Revs.  Joseph  Copeland,  J.  W. 
and  Mrs.  Matheson,  John  G.  and  Mrs.  Paton, 
and  in  1859  S.  F.  and  Mrs.  Johnston,  were  all 
placed  on  Tanna,  but  soon  after  Mr.  Copeland 
went  to  Aneityum.  From  the  first,  on  Tanna, 
as  on  other  islands,  the  native  priests  gave 
much  opposition  to  the  missionaries'  teaching. 
This  priesthood  is  powerful  and  profess  to 
have  and,  by  sorcery,  to  exercise,  all  the  powers 
of  God.  After  the  murder  of  the  Gordons,  a 
Tanna  "holy"  man,  prejudiced  by  white 
traders,  clubbed  an  Aneityum  chief,  a  native 
teacher,  who  died  soon  after,  rejoicing  in 
Jesus  Christ.  Also  from  the  effecfts  of  a 
savage  attack  upon  my  life  and  his,  Mr. 
Johnston  never  rallied,  but  died  soon  after, 
having  been  only  about  four  months  on  the  is- 
land. In  1862,  after  much  suffering,  bereave- 
ment, and  many  attempts  upon  our  lives,  and 
the  loss  of  all  earthly  property  except  our 
pocket  Bibles,   Mr.   and  Mrs.    Matheson,  the 


ISLES   WAITING   FOR   GOD'S   LAW.         191 

teacherS;  and  I  escaped  by  a  passing  ship. 
After  reaching  Aneityum  Mrs.  Matheson  died 
in  March  and  her  husband  in  June.  I  left 
for  AustraUa  to  get,  if  possible,  more  mis- 
sionaries and  a  mission  ship  for  our  mission. 
There  the  Lord,  by  His  people,  gave  me 
^'5,000.  The  new  Day  spring^  was  bought 
with  ^3,000  of  it,  and  the  remaining  ^2,000 
sent  out  and  supported  more  missionaries.  Since 
that  time  island  after  island  has  been  occupied, 
and  the  Lord  has  prospered  our  work,  till  we 
had  in  1898  the  large  staff  of  26  earnest,  edu- 
cated missionaries,  5  of  them  medical  men  and 
5  lay  helpers,  besides  about  300  native  teachers, 
all  educated  by  our  own  missionaries  for  their 


*  The  Dayspring  was  lost  in  1897,  and  the  need  of 
a  new  vessel  is  sorely  felt  by  the  missionaries,  who 
must  now  depend  entirely  upon  godless  traders  and 
vicious  sailors  who  trade  on  Sabbaths,  and  whose 
contact  with  the  natives  often  does  incalculable 
harm.  They  supply  natives  freely  with  rum,  and 
directly  oppose  the  missionaries.  The  Presbyterian 
Assembly  of  Australia  has  recently  voted  to  post- 
pone decision  as  to  securing  another  ship  for  another 
year.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  then  the  much-needed 
vessel  will  be  furnished. — Ed. 


192  THE   MIRACIvES   OF   MISSIONS. 

work.  In  the  mission  we  have  a  teachers' 
training  institution,  with  46  students,  under 
the  care  of  Dr.  Annand  and  his  lay  teachers, 
and  we  have  a  hospital  under  the  care  of  Dr. 
Lamb  and  his  lay  helpers.  By  our  mission- 
aries the  whole  Bible  has  been  translated  into 
one  language,  and  the  New  Testament  into 
several.  The  portions  of  Scripture  so  trans- 
lated have  been  printed,  and  are  now  read  by 
the  natives  in  over  twenty  languages  of  the 
group.  This  is  a  great  work,  which  makes 
our  mission  laborious  and  expensive  compaied 
with  others  having  only  one  language  to  con- 
quer. Our  islanders  had  no  written  language 
when  we  began  the  Lord's  work  among  them. 
A  number  of  the  translations  have  been  printed 
by  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  but 
our  natives  try  to  pay  it  for  all  it  does  for  them. 
As  results  of  the  work,  our  dear  Lord  Jesus 
has  given  our  missionaries  about  16,000  con- 
verts, and  the  blessed  work  is  extending  among 
some  40,000  or  50,000  remaining  cannibals  on 
the  group.  In  our  synod  year  of  1895-96, 
1,120  savages    renounced   idolatry   and    em- 


ISI,ES   WAITING    FOR    GOD'S   LAW.         193 

braced    the   worship   and   service   of    Christ. 
One  missionary  baptized  200  out  of  his  com- 
municants' class  of  400,  after  a  long  and  care- 
ful preparatory  Scripture  training.     We  never 
baptize  and  teach  afterward,  but  educate  and 
wait  till  they  give  real  evidence  of  consecration 
to  Jesus  Christ,  and  then,  at  their  desire,  bap- 
tize, and  continue  teaching  them  to  observe  in 
their  Hfe  and  conducfl  all  things  Jesus  has  com- 
manded.  Hence,  we  have  only  about  2, 500  com- 
municants, tho   10,000  attend  our  day-schools 
and  Sabbath-schools.     All  our  converts  attend 
church  regularly.     In   1896  they  contributed 
about  /900,  and  the  next  year  over  ^1,300 
by  money  and  arrowroot,  and  a  number  of  the 
islands  now  support  their  own  native  teachers. 
Yet  they  have  no  money  but  what  they  get  by 
selling  pigs,   fowls,   cocoanuts,   and  copra  to 
passing   ships.     God   has   given   four  of  our 
present  missionaries  each  from   1,700  to  2,000 
converts;  and  at   all  our  more  recently  occu- 
pied stations  the  work  is  very  encouraging, 
and   enjoys   the  Divine   blessing.     Our  chief 
concern  at  present  is  how  we  are  to  get  money 

in- 13. 


194  '^HE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

to  keep  our  large  staff  going  on,  but  we  trust 
in  Jesus  to  provide  all  as  it  is  needed. 

Never  since  Jesus  Christ  gave  the  great 
commission,  have  so  many  of  His  servants 
been  proclaiming  the  blessed  Gospel,  and  never 
before  in  heathen  lands  has  it  shown  more 
vitality  and  power  in  its  grand  results.  Yet 
what  large  portions  of  the  world  are  yet  in 
heathen  darkness!  Oh,  for  a  new  Pentecostal 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  all  branches  of 
the  Church,  to  lead  her  to  try  to  '*  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature,"  and  by  the  Gospel 
conquer  the  world  for  Jesus  Christ.  A  small 
book,  showing  the  extension  and  glorious 
fruits  of  Christian  Protestant  missions  during 
the  last  half  century,  would  do  much  to  silence 
the  infidel  and  the  enemies  of  Protestant  mis- 
sions to  the  heathen,  enlighten  the  indifferent, 
and  draw  forth  the  united  praise  and  prayers, 
and  increased  money  support,  and  personal, 
zealous  cooperation  of  Christians  in  all  lands, 
so  to  conquer  the  world  for  Jesus  Christ  by 
h^.s  own  appointed  means.  It  would  show 
that  the  Gospel  is  not  only  the  power  of  God 


ISI.KS   WAITING   FOR   GOD'S   LAW.         1 95 

unto  salvation  to  every  one  who  believes,  high 
and  low,  of  every  color  and  of  every  country, 
but  that,  wherever  found,  it  is  the  only  real 
and  lasting  civilizer  of  man.  Had  Britain  felt 
her  responsibility,  and  improved  her  privileges 
by  spending  a  twentieth  part  of  what  her 
present  wars  will  cost  her  to  subdue  her 
rebellious  subjeds,  in  giving  them  the  Gospel 
teaching  of  Jesus  while  under  her  care,  it 
might  have  prevented  those  wars,  and  saved 
not  only  loss  of  life  and  treasure,  but  also  the 
feelings  of  revenge  that  remain  and  fester 
in  the  hearts  of  surviving  relatives  and  the 
tribes  of  the  subdued.  Armies  may  conquer 
and  sweep  the  oppressed  into  eternity,  but 
Christ's  teaching  enlightens  the  mind,  influ- 
ences the  heart  by  creating  it  anew,  and  leads 
all  so  brought  under  its  power  to  feel  their 
responsibily  to  our  God,  the  Supreme  Judge 
of  all.  Thus  it  lifts  them  above  heathen  super- 
stitions, prejudices,  cruelties,  and  discontent, 
filling  the  heart  with  gratitude  to  God  for  His 
love  and  mercy  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  leading 
them  to  love  their  benefadlors,  and  to  do  to 


196  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

others  as  they  would  have  others  do  to  them. 
Though  our  New  Hebridean  savage  cannibals, 
as  they  all  were  when  our  work  began  among 
them,  have  lost  many  thousands  of  lives,  and 
suffered  much  oppressive  cruelty  by  the  sandal- 
wood traders  and  by  the  shocking  Kanaka 
labor  traffic*  which  followed,  yet  because  of 
British  missionaries  so  man}^  of  them  have 
been  brought  to  serve  Jesus,  that  now  the 
lemaining  population  all  plead  for  British 
annexation  and  protedlion.  And  lately,  on  a 
recently  occupied  island,  where  all  under  the 
missionaries'  charge  were  painted  savages, 
after  several  adls  of  kindness  by  the  missionary, 
the  war  chief  was  led  to  hear  the  teaching  of 
Jesus,  and  to  believe  in,  and  serve  Him.  He 
was  the  first  man  among  some  3,000  or  4,000 
to  appear  at  the  church  and  to  wear  clothing  in 


*The  "  Kanaka  Interisland  Labor"  is  little  better 
than  a  system  of  slavery,  and  is  cruel  in  the  extreme. 
Natives  are  brought  from  various  islands  to  work 
under  contract  for  traders  and  planters  on  unsuper- 
vised islands.  Some  of  these  natives  have  been 
flogged  to  death  by  their  employers.  This  system 
calls  loudly  for  reform. — Ed. 


ISLES   WAITING   FOR    GOD's   LAW.         1 97 

public.  For  some  reason  his  savage  warriors 
wanted  him  to  go  to  war,  but  he  refused. 
His  enemies  sent  a  man  to  conceal  himself  by 
the  path  and  shoot  dead  one  of  the  chiefs 
men,  being  one  of  their  usual  challenges  to 
war,  and  many  afterward  urged  him  to  fight  in 
revenge,  but  he  said,  "I  will  not  fight  and 
shed  blood,  but  leave  all  revenge  to  my  Jesus 
now,"  and  he  preached  the  Gospel  of  peace 
and  love  to  them,  and  prayed  for  them  all. 
His  life  was  threatened,  but  he  also  left  that 
to  Jesus.  He  now  teaches  a  school  among  his 
savages,  and,  following  his  example,  many 
have  begun  to  wear  clothing  and  attend  school 
and  church.  The  chief  and  twelve  others  are 
now  candidates  in  a  class  -for  baptism  and 
church  membership,  and  a  real  work  of  grace 
seems  to  have  begun  all  around  among  the 
savages.  Surely  the  Divine  blessing  on  the 
same  teaching  would  produce  like  blessed 
results  among  the  heathen  subjecfls  of  all 
nations,  and  make  them  happy,  industrious, 
loyal,  loving  subjeAs — a  thing  which  can  not 
be  done  by  conquering  armies. 


198  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

Rev.  Dr.  William  Gunn,  of  Futuna,  New 
Hebrides,  bears  similar  testimony.     He  writes: 

The  New  Hebrides  are  inhabited  by  the 
Melanesian,  or  black  race,  with  woolly  hair. 
Several  small  islands,  as  Futuna,  Aniwa,  and 
Bmae,  are  peopled  by  a  mixed  race  of  Poly- 
nesians and  Melanesians.  The  estimated 
population  is  70,000.  Tanna,  Epi,  Ambrim, 
and  Oba,  with  8,000  each,  are  the  most 
populous  islands.  Many  of  the  natives  are 
good-looking,  with  high  facial  angle.  The 
retreating  forehead,  broad,  flat  nose,  and  pro- 
jedling  jaws  of  the  negroes  are  rarely  seen. 
Their  average  height  is  5  feet  5  inches. 
Physically  they  are  inferior  in  strength  and 
endurance  to  the  white  race,  and  rapidly 
succumb  to  disease.  The  men  strut  about 
almost  nude.  In  the  south  the  women  are 
fairly  well  clothed,  but  as  we  proceed  north, 
female  clothing  decreases,  while  native  me- 
chanical skill  and  ingenuity  increases.  The 
custom  of  dividing  the  hair  into  many  locks 
in  the  southern  islands  is  now  obsolete  among 
the  Christians.     Men  and  women  are  fond  of 


ISLES   WAITING   FOR    GOD'S   LAW.         1 99 

ornaments  and  wear  bead  or  shell  necklaces 
and  armlets,  and  wooden  or  tortoise-shell 
earrings.  Those  fond  of  music  play  the  native 
flute  and  Paris  pipes,  and  they  continue  their 
heathen  dances  and  singing  all  night.  Their 
houses  were  from  five  to  seven  feet  high,  and 
without  walls,  but  with  Christianity  have  been 
greatly  improved.  The  furniture  consisted  of 
sleeping-mats,  baskets,  clubs,  bows  and 
arrows,  stone  or  shell  axes,  fishing  materials, 
and  now  a  musket  or  two.  Native  arts  are 
decaying.  Remains  of  pottery  have  been 
found  on  Tanna  and  Kfate,  but  this  art  is  now 
confined  to  Santo.  Rock  carvings  in  Anei- 
tyum,  Efate,  and  Epi  are  now  mysterious 
remains  of  the  past.  They  had  a  fair  knowl- 
edge of  surger>^  and  a  little  of  medicine.  The 
dodlors  were  specialists,  who  set  fradlures, 
compressed  severed  arteries,  and  trepanned 
the  broken  skull.  The  chief  diseases  are 
malarial  fever,  scrofula,  skin  and  chest  diseases, 
and  isolated  cases  of  elephantiasis.  Dysentery 
is  sporadic.  Consumption  is  increasing. 
Venereal   diseases   have   been   introduced  by 


200  THE    MIRACLEvS    OF    MISSIONS. 

whites  and  returned  laborers,  and  have  caused 
great  havoc. 

The  natives  are  observant,  well  acquainted 
with  nature,  and  quick  to  discern  charadler. 
Most  of  them  readil}^  acquire  neighboring 
languages  or  dialedts.  Some  have  learned  to 
read  and  write  in  six  months,  but  the  majority 
take  much  longer.  In  arithmetic  they  are 
slow,  and  few,  if  any,  have  gone  beyond  the 
simple  rules.  Morality,  in  heathen  days,  was 
very  low.  In  some  islands,  indeed,  it  is 
doubtful  if  adultery  was  considered  wrong  in 
itself,  and  it  is  expressed  in  their  language  as 
stealing  a  man  or  woman.  The  rights  of 
property  were  usually  regarded,  save  in  war  or 
private  quarrels. 

The  languages  of  the  New  Hebrides,  though 
numerous  and  apparently  radically  different, 
form  part  of  the  Melanesian  branch,  which, 
united  with  the  Polynesian  or  eastern  islands' 
dialecfls,  belong  to  onj  family,  now  called 
the  Malay-Polynesian.  Nearly  fift}^  dialedls 
are  known  in  the  New  Hebrides,  some  very 
slightl}^  while  others  are  not  yet  discovered. 


ISLHS   WAITING   FOR   GOD  S   LAW.         20I 

The  pronouns  have  four  numbers — in  some 
islands  three — and  a  double  first  plural,  in- 
clusive and  exclusive,  according  as  the  speaker 
includes  or  excludes  the  persons  addressed. 
In  Aneit3^um  and  Tanna  the  natives  reckon 
hy  Jives,  and  can  not  go  beyond  twenty.  In 
the  north  numeration  is  decivial  and  more 
perfecfl. 

Polygamy  and  cannibalism  were  common. 
Infanticide,  though  pra(5lised,  was  not  general. 
Caste  of  various  and  numerous  grades,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  pigs  killed  at  feasts, 
obtained  in  the  north.  Heavy  fines  were  paid 
for  the  infringement  of  rules  in  each  grade. 
V/omen  and  children  belonged  to  no  caste,  and 
wives  lived  apart  from  their  husbands. 
Parental  control  was  unknown.  Women  were 
the  beasts  of  burden,  and  cultivated  the  planta- 
tions while  the  men  fought  or  feasted.  Sor- 
cery, woman-stealing,  and  land  disputes  were 
the  principal  causes  of  war.  In  Malekula  the 
front  teeth  of  the  women  were  removed  at  the 
age  of  eight  or  ten,  just  before  marriage.  In 
Ambrim   the  women   crawled  on  their  knees 


202  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

before  their  lords.  In  Aneityum,  Tanna,  and 
Santo  they  were  strangled  at  the  death  of  their 
husbands. 

The  natives  were  polytheists.  They  believed 
in  many  gods,  great  and  small,  mutually  inde- 
pendent of  each  other.  The  greatest,  variously 
named  Inhujeraing,  Moshishiki,  Mauitikiteki, 
etc.,  created  the  earth  and,  perhaps,  man.  In 
the  south  they  said  he  fished  up  the  islands. 
All  the  gods  were  malicious,  and,  accordingly, 
the  natives  appeased  them  with  offerings  of 
food  and  drink  (kava),  praying  for  abundance 
of  food,  freedom  from  disease,  and  long  life. 
These  gods,  and  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors, 
were  the  chief  objedls  of  worship.  The  dead 
were  mourned  for  from  one  hundred  to  one 
thousand  days.  For  years  food  was  placed 
daily  over  their  graves.  In  several  northern 
islands  grotesque  images  were  eredled  in  the 
public  square  as  memorials  of  the  dead.  But 
offerings  were  also  presented  to  the  sun  and 
moon,  and  their  preserving  care  was  sought. 
Certain  sacred  men,  or  sorcerers,  professed 
to  cause   disease,  and  wind,  rain,    sunshine, 


ISLES    WAITING   FOR    GOD'S   LAW.         203 

and  hurricanes.  These  sacred  men,  as  a  rule, 
were  chiefs;  but  the  authority  of  chiefs  in  the 
New  Hebrides  is  very  small,  and  confined  to 
their  own  tribes.  Many,  irrespecflive  of  rank, 
possessed  charms  to  prote(5l  them  in  war,  ward 
off  disease,  and  cause  the  fruits  of  the  earth  to 
grow.  The  future  world  was  dark  and  dis- 
mal. No  distindl  division  separated  good  and 
bad.  The  shades  in  semiconsciousness  shiv- 
ered in  the  cold  and  ate  refuse.  Warmth  was 
sometimes  purchased  by  tattooing  their  bodies, 
or  was  carried  below  from  fires  kindled  by 
relatives  after  burial.  There,  after  passing 
through  successive  descending  stages  of  exist- 
ence, the  shades  were  annihilated.  But  rays 
of  light  struggled  through  the  darkness.  Tra- 
ditions, varying  in  detail,  existed  of  the  crea- 
tion, the  fall,  the  flood,  Jonah,  and  others. 
In  Futuna  the  maxim,  "  I^et  not  the  sxm  go 
down  upon  3^our  wrath,"  was  repeated;  and 
the  curse  of  Cain  was  pronounced  on  the 
murderer. 

Such  were  the  people,   and  such  was  their 
state  in  the  past,  and,  in  heathen  islands,  so  it 


204  THE    MIRACLES    OF    MISSIONS. 

is  still.  Degraded  by  horrid  customs,  steeped 
in  the  grossest  superstition,  with  minds  and 
understandings  darkened  by  sin  and  Satan,  in 
fear  of  man  by  day  and  of  spirits  b}'  night, 
the  natives  of  the  New  Hebrides  were  Ihe 
most  needful  of  the  Gospel,  and  by  their  iso- 
lation and  Babel  of  tongues  presented  the 
greatest  difficulties  toward  receiving  it.  Burn- 
ing with  desire  to  supply  this  need,  John 
Williams  endeavored  to  carry  the  Gospel  to 
them,  but  at  Erromanga,  in  1839,  peris'  .d  in 
the  attempt.  A  brief  sketch  of  mission  work 
will  bring  the  history  of  the  islands  to  the 
present  day.  After  his  death  teachers  were 
landed  on  the  southern  islands  and  reenforced 
from  time  to  time.  Some  died,  some  were 
martyred,  some  returned  home,  some  remained 
at  their  posts  and  prepared  the  way  for  mis- 
sionaries. Messrs.  Turner  and  Nesbit  landed 
in  Tanna  in  1842,  but  soon  were  compelled  to 
leave.  The  mission  work,  begun  by  the  early 
missionaries  and  teachers  under  the  lyondon 
Missionary  Society,  w^as  now  gradually  passed 
over  to  the  Presbyterian  churches.     Dr.  Ged- 


ISLES   WAITING    FOR    GOD's    LAW.         205 

die,  from  the  Nova  Scotian  church,  took  up 
work  on  Aneityum,  in  1848;  and  Dr.  Inglis, 
from  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Scotland,  followed  in  1852.  A  church  was 
formed,  and,  in  1853,  missionary  teachers,  the 
first  in  the  New  Hebrides,  were  sent  to  reopen 
Futuna  to  the  Gospel.  A  missionary  settled 
on  Krromanga  in  1857,  ^^^  three  on  Tanna  in 
1858.  But  disaster  now  befell  the  mission. 
Measles,  introduced  by  traders,  swept  away  a 
third  of  the  population  of  Aneityum,  Tanna, 
and  Krromanga.  The  heathen  blamed  the 
missionaries,  and,  in  1861,  Mr.  Gordon  and 
his  wife  were  murdered  on  Krromanga.  The 
Tannese  expelled  their  missionaries.  But 
Aneityum  was  now  all  Christian,  and  the  ter- 
rible scourge  roused  the  half-hearted  to  more 
earnestness.  A  missionary  settled  on  Efate 
in  1854,  who  was  soon  joined  by  a  second.  A 
brother  took  up  the  work  of  the  martyred 
Gordon,  and  the  Daysprhig,  obtained  chiefly 
through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  Baton,  arrived,  for 
the  exclusive  use  of  the  mission.  Later  the 
vacated   stations   in   Tanna   were   filled,    and 


206  THE    MIRACLES    OF    MISSIONS. 

Nguna  added  to  the  missionary  islands.  But 
in  1872  the  heathen  in  Krromanga  attempted 
unsuccessfully  to  oust  the  Gospel  by  killing 
the  second  Gordon.  His  place  was  immediately 
filled  by  Mr.  Robertson. 

The  Christian  party  grew  stronger,  frus- 
trated an  attempt  of  the  heathen,  in  1880,  to 
murder  the  missionary,  and  were  joined  by 
one  hundred  friendly  heathen  in  a  body.  This 
was  the  turning  point  in  Erromanga,  and  the 
island,  as  a  whole,  is  now  Christian.  In  1883 
all  the  principal  islands,  from  Aneityum  to 
Ambrim,  were  occupied  by  missionaries,  and  a 
third  station  opened  in  Tanna.  The  Aneityum- 
ese  Bible  complete,  the  united  labor  of  Drs. 
Geddie  and  Inglis  and  Mr.  Copeland,  was  dis- 
tributed in  Aneityum  in  1887.  Nearly  ten 
years  later  the  New  Testament  in  Kfatese,  and 
in  a  dialedl  of  Tanna,  was  given  to  their  re- 
spec5live  islanders.  Churches,  with  substan- 
tial iron  roofs,  were  erecfted  in  Aneityum, 
Futuna,  Aniwa,  Tanna,  Malekula,  and  Malo, 
from  1891-93,  the  natives  of  the  three  former 
islands  defraying  the  cost   themselves.     The 


isi.es  waiting  for  god's  I.AW.      207 

success  of  the  mission  in  Nguna,  with  its  large 
cathedral-like  church,  has  been  phenomenal. 
In  1892  four  hundred  and  seventy  were  ad- 
mitted to  church  membership.  The  story  of 
Tongoa  is  little  less  wonderful. 

Thirteen  islands  are  now  Christian,  of  which 
the  largest  are  Efate,  Krromanga,  Aneityum, 
Nguna,  Emae,  Tongoa,  and  Aniwa.  Epi  is 
rapidly  receiving  the  Gospel.  In  Futuna  one 
distri(5l  only  is  heathen.  In  Tanna — the 
hardest  field  in  the  group — the  report  is  more 
encouraging  than  for  years.  Ambrini,  twice 
vacated  through  illness  and  death,  was  re- 
opened in  1892  by  Dr.  I^amb;  but  first  hurri- 
cane and  then  fire  destroyed  the  mission  house, 
and  the  volcano  threatened  the  mission  with 
extindtion;  but  a  strongly-built  hospital  has 
now  for  months  been  open  to  white  men  and 
natives.  Native  teachers  are  under  training, 
and  condu(5l  services  in  difierent  districfts. 
Churches  have  been  formed  in  Malekula, 
Santo,  and  Malo.  But  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  in  these  northern  islands  is  heathen. 
More  than  50,000  are  still  in  heathen  darkness. 


2o8  "THE    MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

The  Melanesia!!  Mission,  under  Bishop  Sel- 
wyn,  formerly  under  Bishop  Patteson,  who 
was  martyred  in  the  Swallow  Islands,  gathered 
young  men  from  the  different  islands  and 
trained  them,  first  in  Auckland,  afterward  in 
Norfolk  Island,  for  mission  work  in  the  islands. 
This  mission — always  friendly  to  the  Presby- 
terian— has  withdraw!!  to  the  Banks,  Santa 
Cruz,  and  Solomon  Islands.  In  the  New 
Hebrides  their  work  is  confined  to  Pentecost, 
Aurora,  and  Oba,  where  teachers  are  settled, 
and  where  missionaries  stay  occasionally. 

The  Presbyterian  mission  staff  numbers 
twenty-five  missionaries,  of  whom  five  are 
medical.  There  are  in  addition  three  lay 
assistants  and  a  hospital  nurse.  The  first 
native  pastor,  Epeteneto,  anativeof  Aneityum, 
has  been  ordained.  Assisting  the  mission- 
aries are  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  native 
teachers.  More  than  forty  of  these  are  mis- 
sionary teachers  at  work  in  semiheathen  is- 
lands. All  the  Christian  islands  have  sent  out 
missionary  teachers.  These  have  endured 
many  hardships,    and  many  have  laid   down 


ISLES   WAITING   FOR    GOD'S   LAW.        209 

their  lives  for  the  cause  of  Christ  in  strange 
islands.  The  crying  need  of  the  mission  is 
native  teachers.  Without  them  evangelization 
of  the  islands  is  impossible.  In  order  to  meet 
the  increasing  demand,  a  training  institution 
was  opened  in  Tongoa  in  1894.  Under  the 
principal,  Dr.  Arnaud,  the  institution  has  met 
with  encouraging  success.  Sixty-four  students 
from  various  islands  are  under  instrucftion, 
which  is  given  in  English,  owing  to  the  di- 
versity of  dialedls.  Within  the  last  two  or 
three  years  several  Christian  traders  have 
given  valuable  help  in  mission  work.  The 
Scriptures,  in  whole  or  in  part,  have  been 
translated  into  eighteen  languages.  For  these 
the  natives  willingl}'  pay.  As  converts  they 
grasp  the  plan  of  salvation  clearly,  and  the 
more  intelligent  among  them,  from  whom  the 
teachers  are  drawn,  can  explain  it  to  their  fel- 
lows. They  attend  to  the  forms  of  religion  dili- 
gently, and  sincerely  follow  the  precepts  of 
the  Gospel.  A  native  of  Futuna,  a  few  days 
after  the  murder  of  his  nephew,  said  he  was 
willing  to  forgive  the  murderer  for  the  sake  of 


2IO  THK   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

the  Gospel — and  this  is  no  isolated  case.  They 
love  their  books,  and  in  flood  or  fire  save  them 
first;  and  the  Aneityumese,  with  the  whole 
Bible,  have  a  wide  but  not  deep  knowledge  of 
its  contents.  They  seldom  speak  of  spiritual 
experience,  and  we  can  not  point  to  sudden 
conversions.  The  great  stumbling-block  is 
immorality,  and  while  many  live  consistent 
lives,  others  have  sadly  fallen. 

In  the  Christian  islands  of  Efate,  Nguna, 
and  Tongoa  the  teachers,  formerly  paid  by 
friends  outside,  have,  within  the  last  few  years, 
been  supported  by  native  contributions.* 

The  mission  is  supported  by  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  of  Canada,  Free  Church  of  Scot- 

*  In  the  report  of  the  synod  for  1897,  the  following 
statistics  are  given,  excluding  Efate: 

Attending  Sabbath  services 13,084 

"           day  schools 5,463 

Adult  baptisms 207 

Christian  marriages 142 

Admitted  to  church  membership 231 

Teachers  settled  during  the  year 33 

Contributions  in  cash ;^424 

Contributions    in    arrowroot,    17,683 

lbs.,  equivalent  in  money  to. . .  ;^884.3j. 

The  total  membership  is  about 2,700 


ISLKS   WAITING   FOR    GOD'S   I.AW.         211 

land,  Presbyterian  churches  of  New  South 
Wales,  Victoria,  South  Australia,  New  Zea- 
land (north),  and  Otago,  New  Zealand  (south), 
and  Tasmania.  Recently  the  John  G.  Paton 
Fund  has  largely  supported  the  mission.  The 
missionaries  meet  annually  in  conference,  or 
synod,  to  discuss  and  arrange  all  matters  for 
the  proper  conduc5l  of  the  mission.* 

Commerce  preceded  missions  in  the  New 
Hebrides.  The  discovery  of  sandalwood 
opened  up  a  trade  which  has  been  the  in- 
strument of  evils  operating  to  this  day.  With 
it  originated  the  inter-island  labor  trade,  fol- 
lowed by  the  Queensland  and  Fiji  labor  trade. 
This  has  drawn  the  best  blood  away  from  the 
islands,  leaving  only  the  old  men  and  women 
and  children.  Whaling  and  cotton  planting 
succeeded  the  sandalwood  trade.  Recently 
the  chief  exports  have  been  coffee,  copra, 
arrowroot,  and  bananas.  Arrowroot  is  con- 
tributed by  the  natives   for  mission   objedls. 

*  In  1890  the  services  of  the  D  ay  spring  v^e-x^  super- 
seded by  a  trading  steamer,  but  it  remains  to  be  seen 
whether  the  churches  interested  will  continue  this 
arrangement,  or  set  it  aside  for  another  Dayspring. 


212  THE   MIRACI.es   OF   MISSIONS. 

The  bananas  exported  have  increased  in  three 
years  from  3,000  to  12,000  bunches  a  month. 
These  exports  promise  to  be  more  permanent 
and  remunerative  than  those  of  early  days. 
If  the  islands  were  annexed  by  Britain,  trade 
would  advance  in  the  future  much  more 
rapidly.  The  natives  and  mission  synod  have 
petitioned  for  British  annexation.  This  would 
stop  the  labor  trade  and  intertribal  wars,  and 
promote  commerce.  The  total  white  popula- 
tion, including  the  mission  families,  is  from 
two  to  three  hundred.  The  principal  nation- 
alities among  the  traders  are  French  and 
British.  At  present  the  islands  are  under  no 
protedlorate,  but  they  have  been  placed  under 
the  ''dual  control"  of  British  and  French, 
each  power  prote(5ling  her  own  subjedls. 
Owing  to  restridlions  imposed  upon  British 
traders  the  best  land  in  the  group  is  now  in  the 
hands  of  the  French,  and  this  may  lead  them 
to  annex  the  islands.  That  such  an  event 
would  be  disastrous  to  the  mission,  the  history 
of  Tahiti  and  the  I^oyalty  Islands  too  plainly 
proves;     and    that    commerce     would    suffer 


ISLES   WAITING   FOR   GOD'S   LAW.        213 

thereby,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fadl  that 
the  bulk  of  the  island  trade  is  at  present  in  the 
hands  of  the  British.  Further,  it  is  reported 
by  eye-witnesses  that  there  is  as  real  slavery  in 
the  French  plantations  as  in  any  part  of  the 
world. 

But  the  future  progress  of  the  mission  and 
of  trade  depends  greatly  upon  the  state  of  the 
population,  and  it  is  steadily  decreasing. 
Tradition,  the  sites  of  extindl  villages,  and 
statistics  prove  this.  The  population  of  Anei- 
tyum  was  3,500  in  1859;  now  it  is  only  530. 
Futuna  has  fallen  in  thirty  years  from  1,000  to 
320.  This  decrease  began  before  the  advent 
of  white  men;  but  contadl  between  the  two 
races  has  accelerated  it  by  introducing  epi- 
demic and  hereditary  diseases  and  the  labor 
traffic.  Can  this  decrease  be  checked  ?  The 
history  of  the  Pacific  islands  and  of  some  of 
the  New  Hebrides  shows  that  in  some  islands 
it  can  7iot,  while  possibly  in  others  it  may. 
Christianity  is  the  most  powerful  fadlor  in  pre- 
serving these  natives,  and  were  it  not  for 
that    Aneityum    would    already    have    been 


214  I'HE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

quite  depopulated.  It  stopped  decrease  in 
Raratonga  and  Samoa,  and  it  will  prolong 
the  days  of  the  New  Hebrides.  Philan- 
trophy  and  commerce  alike  call  for  the 
preservation  of  the  race.  Chinese,  or  other 
higher  races,  can  not,  with  profit  to  them- 
selves, settle  in  suiB&cient  numbers  to  carry  on 
a  remunerative  export  trade.  But  this  decrease 
of  population  affords  a  powerful  argument  for 
haste  in  evangelizing  the  people  that  remain. 
Prophecy  promises  success  by  foretelling  their 
conversion.  '*  Men  shall  worship  Him,  every- 
one from  his  place,  even  all  the  isles  of  the 
heathen. ' ' 


No.   XII. 

The  Awakening  of  the  American 
Negro.* 

BY   DElvAVAN   L.    PIERSON. 

HE  liberation  of  the  slaves  was  but 
the  first  step  in  the  emancipation 
of  the  American  Negro,  even  as 
the  exodus  of  Israel  from  Egypt  was  but  the 
beginning  of  their  march  toward  the  promised 
land.  In  order  to  make  the  liberation  of  the 
colored  race  a  true  and  lasting  benefit  to  them- 
selves and  to  the  country  in  which  they  live, 
industrial,  intellecflual,  moral,  religious,  and 
political  freedom  and  education  must  follow. 
Great  strides  have  recently  been  made  in 


*The  facts  in  this  chapter  are  gathered  largely 
from  addresses  and  articles  by  Booker  T.  Wash- 
ington. 

215 


21 6  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

this  diredlion,  especially  through  the  efforts  of 
one  of  their  own  number,  Booker  T.  Washing- 
ton, "^^  who  has  been  called  ''the  Moses  of  the 
negro  race. ' '  He  is  now  well  known  throughout 
the  country  as  the  leader  and  educator  of  his 
people,  and  has  not  only  accomplished  wonders 
toward  solving  the  negro  problem,  by  means  of 
his  system  of  education  at  The  Tuskegee 
Normal  arid  hidustrial  Training  Institute,  but 
has  awakened  much  interest  and  gained  much 
commendation  in  all  parts  of  the  country  by 
his  numerous  and  telling  addresses.  His 
thorough  knowledge  of,  and  insight  into,  the 
problem  which  confronts  him,  his  wisdom  in 
carrying  out  his  ideas,  and  his  intense  earnest- 
ness, have  enlisted  for  him  and  his  work  the 
sympathies  and  support  of  thousands  of  men 
and  women  all  over  the  country.  The  success 
of  his  method  has  also  attested  the  pradlica- 
bility  of  his  theories. 

Booker  Washino:ton  was  born  a  slave  on  a 


*  It  is  said  tiiat  when  Booker  Washington  was 
asked  how  he  got  his  last  name,  he  replied:  "Well, 
I  found  myself  in  need  of  a  good  name,  and  so  chose 
the  best  there  was." 


Booker  T.  Washington, 
Principal  of  the  Tuskegee  Xormal  and  Industrial  Training  Institute. 


AWAKENING   OF   AMERICAN   NEGRO.      21 7 

plantation  at  Hale's  Ford,  Virginia,  in  1857. 
He  lived  with  his  mother  in  a  little  one-room 
log  cabin  with  a  dirt  floor,  in  which  was  a 
hole  for  storing  sweet  potatoes.  At  th "  close 
of  the  war,  which  made  the  negroes  men 
instead  of  property,  he  went  to  Maiden,  West 
Virginia,  to  work  in  the  salt  furnaces.  While 
there,  he  heard  of  General  Armstrong's  school 
in  Hampton,  Virginia,  as  a  place  where  a  poor 
boy  could  earn  an  education.  He  made  up 
his  mind  to  go  there  if  possible,  and  with  this 
end  in  view  began  to  save  every  cent  he  could 
earn.  Finally  one  morning  he  started  to  walk 
to  the  coveted  school,  scarcely  knowing  where 
it  was  located.  After  traveling  many  miles  on 
foot,  by  coach  and  by  rail,  he  at  last  found 
himself  in  Richmond,  without  friends,  money, 
or  a  place  to  sleep.  He  spent  the  night  on  the 
street,  and  in  the  morning  started  out  to  search 
for  means  to  continue  his  journey.  Seeing  a 
ship  unloading  pig-iron,  he  obtained  work  from 
the  captain  until  he  had  enough  money  to  pay 
his  way  to  Hampton,  where  he  arrived  with 
fifty  cents  in  his  pocket.     After  General  Arm- 


2l8  THK   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

Strong  had  heard  his  story,  and  learned  the 
objedl  of  his  coming,  he  promised  to  give  him 
a  chance  to  pay  his  expenses  through.  While 
at  Hampton,  he  learned  much  that  has  been  of 
immense  assistance  in  his  present  work,  and 
resolved  that,  if  God  permitted,  he  would  go 
into  the  ''black  belt"  of  the  Gulf  States,  and 
give  his  life  to  help  young  men  of  his  own  race 
to  get  an  education. 

Having  been  graduated  from  Hampton 
with  honors,  after  teaching  in  West  Vir- 
ginia and,  studjdng  in  Wayland  Seminary,  he 
returned  to  Hampton  as  a  teacher.  In  1881 
the  Alabama  legislature  passed  a  bill  appro- 
priating $2,000  yearly  to  carry  on  a  school  at 
Tuskegee  for  the  education  of  negro  youths. 
General  Armstrong  was  asked  to  suggest  a 
suitable  man  to  establish  and  condu(5l  the  work, 
and  he  recommended  Booker  T.  Washington. 
The  distridl  in  which  the  new  school  was  to  be 
located  is  one  in  which  the  black  people  out- 
number the  white  three  to  one.  Here,  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1 88 1,  he  opened  the  Tuskegee 
Normal  and  Industrial  Training  Institute  in  a 


AWAKENING   OF   AMERICAN   NEGRO.     219 

small  church  and  shanty,  with  thirty  students 
and  one  teacher.  Since  that  time  the  institu- 
tion has  grown,  until  it  has  now  eighty  in- 
strucftors  and  about  one  thousand  students,  of 
both  the  sexes,  from  nineteen  States,  all  over 
fourteen  years  of  age,  the  average  being 
eighteen  and  one-half. 

This  institution  at  Tuskegee  is  Christian, 
but  not  denominational.  The  instru(5lors 
emphasize  religion  as  pracftical,  not  merely 
theoretical  or  emotional,  and  of  all  the  lessons 
that  need  to  be  emphasized  in  the  South,  none 
is  more  needed  than  this,  oi practical  Christian- 
ity. Prof.  Washington  cites,  as  an  example 
of  the  prevailing  idea  of  religion  among  many 
of  the  colored  race,  the  storj^  of  a  colored  man 
who  went  to  his  weekly  class-meeting,  and 
said  to  his  class  leader,  ''  I's  had  a  ha'd  time 
since  our  las'  meetin'  ;  I's  been  sometimes 
up  and  sometimes  down,  'spect  I's  broken 
eb'ry  one  ob  de  ten  comman'ments  since 
our  las'  meetin',  but  I  tanks  God,  I's  not  los' 
my  Higion  yet.''  The  coming  generation  of 
young  men   and   young   women   need   to  be 


220  THE   MIRACLES  OF   MISSIONS. 

taught  that  they  should  not  only  profess  Chris- 
tianity, but  must  put  it  in  prac5lise  in  their 
daily  lives. 

From  the  first,  industrial  training  has  been 
given,  together  with  intelledlual  and  religious 
instrudlion.  This  industrial  training  has 
several  advantages.  Young  men  and  young 
women  are  thereby  enabled  to  work  out  about 
half  of  their  board,  paying  the  rest  in  cash. 
Their  labor  has  an  economic  value  to  the  in- 
stitution, and  at  the  same  time  trains  the 
student  to  make  an  honest  living.  Over 
twenty-four  hundred  acres  of  land  are 
owned,  six  hundred  and  fifty  of  which  are  cul- 
tivated. Besides  the  regular  literar}^,  scientific, 
and  religious  training  which  the  students  at 
Tuskegee  receive,  the  institution  offers  courses 
in  various  branches  of  agriculture,  horticulture, 
dairy  produdls,  brick  masonry,  wheel wrighting, 
blacksmithing,  tinning,  carpentering,  paint- 
ing, shoemaking,  tailoring,  dressmaking,  and 
various  branches  of  domestic  science — in  all, 
twenty-five  branches  of  industrial  training — ^be- 
sides preparing  students  for  work  as  teachers, 


AWAKENING  OP   AMERICAN   NEGRO.     221 

preachers,  physicians,  nurses,  lawyers,  clerks, 
merchants,  machinists,  etc.  This  system  en- 
ables them  to  make  pra(5lical  application  of  the 
theories  which  they  learn  in  the  class-room. 
The  principles  of  physics  are  immediately  ap- 
plied in  the  machine-shop,  those  of  chemistry 
in  farming  and  cooking,  those  of  mathematics  in 
carpentry,  etc.  There  are  no  idlers  in  Tuske- 
gee.  They  ere(5l  their  own  buildings,  even 
manufadluring  every  brick  ;  they  also  do  the 
carpenter  and  other  work.  Thus  buildings 
are  secured  for  permanent  use,  at  a  minimum 
of  expense,  and  the  students  have  the  indus- 
trial training,  which  also  helps  to  rid  young 
men  and  young  women  of  any  old  idea  they 
may  have  had  that  labor  is  disgraceful,  or 
that  it  is  beneath  one  to  use  his  hands  if 
he  has  had  some  education.  The  Tuskegee 
property  is  now  valued  at  two  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  dollars,  on  which  there  is 
no  mortgage.  There  are  thirty-seven  build- 
ings, all  except  three  of  which  have  been 
erec5led  by  the  students.  The  central  aim  of 
all  departments  of  the  institute  is  so  to  fortify 


222  THK  MIRACLES  OF  MISSIONS. 

the  head,  hand,  and  heart  of  the  negroes 
who  attend  that  they  may  go  out  and  mingle 
with  their  race  on  the  cotton,  rice,  and  sugar 
plantations,  and  be  the  means  of  elevating  them 
economically,  intelledlually,  morally,  and 
spiritually.  The  expense  of  carrying  on  this 
work  is  only  about  seventy-five  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year,  over  one  half  of  which  is  met  by 
the  labor  of  the  students. 

One  great  .difficulty  met  in  endeavoring  to 
better  the  condition  of  the  Southern  negro  is 
the  ''mortgage  system,"  which  makes  them 
virtually  the  property  of  the  well-to-do  plant- 
ers, taking  away  all  their  independence,  ambi- 
tion, and  self-respecfl.  They  live  in  little 
cabins,  and  try  to  pay  sometimes  forty  per 
cent,  interest  on  their  property  and  on  their 
crops,  which  are  often  mortgaged  even  before 
they  are  raised.  The  result  in  poverty  and 
lack  of  hope  for  better  things  can  be  im- 
agined. 

Intelledlually  their  advantages  are  in  many 
places  not  much  better.  Not  being  allowed  to 
attend  school  with  white  children,  they  go  to 


AWAKENING   OF   AMERICAN   NKGRO.     223 

little  log  cabins  or  tumble-down  churches.  In 
the  country  distridls  of  Alabama  these  schools 
are  open  only  three  months  of  the  year.  Owing 
to  poor  pay  and  other  reasons,  many  of  the 
teachers  secured,  have  been  not  competent 
instrucftors,  and  the  results  are  intellec?tual 
poverty  and  stagnation  equal  to  the  industrial. 

The  moral  and  religious  condition  of  these 
people  is,  if  anything,  generally  lower;  wit- 
ness the  number  of  lynchings  in  the  South  for 
beastly  crimes;  the  charadler  of  their  dances; 
their  preaching  services,  and  many  of  their 
religious — but  not  Christian — leaders.  With- 
out ambition  in  material  things  they,  to  a  large 
extent,  live  without  self-restraint  in  moral 
things,  their  careless  natures,  joined  to  their 
state  of  poverty  and  ignorance,  tending  to 
divorce  morality  from  their  religion. 

Tuskegee  Institute  is  seeking  to  find  and 
apply  a  remedy  for  this  state  of  things,  and 
this  work  is  not  considered  to  be  hopeless  or 
even  discouraging.  The  negroes  acknowledge 
their  ignorance  and  low  condition,  but  they 
think  that  there  is  no  help  for  it.     What  they 


224  I'HE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

need  is  intelligent  and  unselfish  leadership  in 
their  religious,  intelledlual,  and  industrial  life, 
and  this  is  what  the  Tuskegee  Institute  is 
endeavoring  to  give  them.  The  trouble  is  that 
these  people  do  not  know  how  to  utilize  the  re- 
sults of  their  labor.  What  they  earn  gets  away 
from  them  in  paying  mortgages  and  in  buying 
lace,  snuff,  and  tinsel  jewelry.  They  have 
not  yet  learned  the  distindlion  between  cheap 
and  showy  imitation  of  wealth  and  education, 
and  the  culture  and  refinement  which  come 
only  by  slow  and  labored  progress.  A  one- 
roomed  cabin  will  sometimes  have  a  clock, 
bought  on  the  instalment  plan  for  twelve  dol- 
lars, when  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  not  one  in 
the  family  can  tell  when  the  hands  point  to 
six  o'clock  and  when  to  twelve;  or  a  family 
will  mortgage  a  year's  crop  to  pay  for  a  showy 
wedding  or  funeral. 

Tuskegee  has  already  succeeded  in  trans- 
forming many  distri(5ls.  At  the  time  of  their 
emancipation,  pracflically  all  of  the  negroes 
lived  in  one-room  log  cabins;  ten  years  ago 
nine-tenths  of  them  lived  in   the  same  way; 


AWAKENING   OF   AMERICAN   NEGRO.     225 

whereas  to-day  one- third  of  them  have  at  least 
doubled  their  accommodations,  and  many  of 
them  own  their  farms  and  homes.  The  stu- 
dents who  come  to  Tuskegee  from  wretched, 
single-room  hovels,  go  back  to  transform  them 
into  homes,  where  peace  and  purity  can 
thrive.  Already  the  graduates  of  the  institute 
are  in  great  demand  all  over  the  South,  and 
other  schools  are  applying  the  Tuskegee  prin- 
ciples and  methods  of  education. 

As  examples  of  the  pradlical  workings  of 
the  system,  Mr.  Washington  cites  the  follow- 
ing instances: 

'  *  Ten  years  ago  a  young  man  born  in 
slaver}'  found  his  way  to  the  Tuskegee 
School.  By  small  cash  payments  and  work  on 
the  farm  he  finished  the  course  with  a  good 
English  education  and  a  pradlical  and  theo- 
retical knowledge  of  farming.  Returning  to 
his  country  home,  where  five-sixths  of  the 
citizens  were  black,  he  found  them  still  mort- 
gaging their  crops,  living  on  rented  land  from 
hand  to  mouth,  and  deeply  in  debt.  School 
had  never  lasted  longer  than   three  months, 

III— 15 


226  THE   MIRACLES    OF    MISSIONS. 

and  was  taught  in  a  wreck  of  a  log  cabin  by 
an  inferior  teacher.  Finding  this  condition  of 
things,  the  young  man  took  the  three  months' 
public  school  as  a  starting-point.  Soon  he  or- 
ganized the  older  people  into  a  club  that  came 
together  every  week.  In  these  meetings  the 
young  man  taught  them  the  value  of  owning 
a  home,  the  evils  of  mortgaging,  and  the  im- 
portance of  educating  their  children.  He 
taught  them  how  to  save  money,  how  to  sacri- 
fice— to  live  on  bread  and  potatoes  until  they 
got  out  of  debt,  begin  buying  a  home,  and 
stop  mortgaging.  Through  the  lessons  and 
influence  of  these  meetings,  during  the  first 
year  of  this  young  man's  work,  these  people 
built,  by  their  contributions  in  money  and  labor, 
a  good  frame  schoolhouse  that  replaced  the 
wreck  of  a  log  cabin.  The  next  year  this 
work  was  continued,  and  those  people,  from 
their  own  gifts,  furnished  funds  for  adding  two 
months  to  the  original  school  term.  Month  by 
month  has  been  added  to  the  school  term,  till 
it  now  lasts  seven  months  every  year.  Already 
fourteen  families,  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles. 


AWAKENING    OF    AMERICAN    NEGRO.     227 

have  bought  aud  are  buying  homes,  a  large 
proportion  have  ceased  mortgaging  their  crops, 
and  are  raising  their  own  food  supplies.  In 
the  midst  of  all  is  the  young  man  educated  at 
Tuskegee  with  a  model  cottage  and  a  model 
farm  that  served  as  an  example  and  center  of 
light  for  the  whole  community. 

' '  A  few  years  ago  a  young  woman  was  edu- 
cated and  converted  at  Tuskegee.  After  her 
graduation  she  went  to  one  of  the  plantations 
where  they  only  had  school  for  three  months 
in  the  year  in  a  broken-down  log  cabin.  She 
took  charge  of  the  school,  and  went  among 
the  mothers  and  fathers  of  the  pupils,  and 
found  out  what  their  resources  were.  She 
taught  them  how  to  save  money.  The  first 
year,  many  men  decided  not  to  mortgage  their 
crops,  but  to  provide  suitable  homes,  and  a 
good  schoolhouse.  They  added  to  the  school 
term  until  they  have  a  season  of  eight  months. 
The  community  is  transformed,  and  the  very 
faces  of  the  people  show  the  revolution  that  has 
been  wrought  in  their  lives  by  that  one  Chris- 
tian  leader.     Every    improvement   has   come 


228  THE   MIRACLES    OF   MISSIONS. 

through  this  young  woman  in  their  midst 
showing  them  how  to  diredl  their  efforts,  how 
to  take  the  money  that  had  hitherto  gone  for 
mortgaging,  snuff,  and  tobacco,  and  to  use  it 
for  their  own  uplifting. ' ' 

What  effecft  does  this  work  at  Tuskegee 
have  upon  the  relations  between  the  white  and 
the  black  men  ?  The  Institute  aims  not  only 
to  uplift  the  ignorant  and  downtrodden  ne- 
groes, but  to  bring  the  white  people  of  the 
South  to  the  point  where  they  will  not  think 
that  they  need  to  degrade  themselves  by  dis- 
honesty at  the  polls  in  order  to  overcome  the 
majority  which  the  colored  people  have' over 
them.  Whatever  fridlion  exists  between  the 
races  will  pass  away  just  in  proportion  as  the 
black  man  can  produce  something  that  the 
white  man  wants  or  respecfts  commercially. 
When  the  Tuskegee  Institute  was  first  opened, 
it  was  ignored  or  despised  by  the  white  people. 
A  wheelwright  shop  was  .started,  and  then 
men  who  wanted  carriages  came  to  it.  A  job- 
printing  establishment  was  opened,  and  soon 
the  organ  of  the  Democratic  party  was  printed 


»  9. 


«    IB 
"IS 


I'-**    .    «il*^' 


t^^.M^.^. 


£   ^ 


•      4»>^ 


f-m 


AWAKENING   OF   AMERICAN   NEGRO.     229 

every  week  by  the  colored  students.  By  hav- 
ing something  that  was  of  commercial  value, 
the  whites  and  blacks  became  acquainted; 
their  business  interests  became  linked  together, 
and  they  are  now  warm  friends.  If  a  negro's 
business  interests  increase  until  he  gets  a 
mortgage  on  a  white  man's  house,  that  white 
man  will  not  drive  the  negro  from  the  polls. 

Mr.  Washington  thus  concludes  one  of  his 
addresses  on  this  subjec5l: 

' '  If  ever  there  was  a  people  that  obeyed 
Christ's  injundlion,  'Whosoever  shall  smite 
thee  on  thy  right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other 
also, '  that  people  has  been  the  American  ne- 
gro. To  right  his  wrongs  the  Russian  has 
appealed  to  dynamite,  the  Indian  to  his  toma- 
hawk, the  Irishman  to  agitation,  the  American 
to  rebellion,  but  the  negro,  patient,  unresent- 
ful,  and  law-abiding,  has  always  depended 
upon  his  songs,  his  midnight  prayers,  his 
groans,  on  an  inherent  faith  in  his  cause.  If 
we  may  judge  the  future  by  the  past,  who  will 
say  that  the  negro  is  not  right  ?  We  went 
into  slavery  pagans,  we  came  out  Christians; 


230  THE   MIRACLES   OE   MISSIONS. 

we  went  into  slavery  a  piece  of  property,  we 
came  out  American  citizens;  we  went  into 
slavery  wdthout  a  language,  w^e  came  out 
speaking  the  proud  Anglo-Saxon  tongue;  we 
went  into  slaverj^  with  the  slave  chains  clank- 
ing about  our  wTists,  we  came  out  with  the 
American  ballot  in  our  hands. 

' '  You  seldom  see  a  black  hand  on  any  street 
in  America  held  out  for  charity.  It  is  not 
charity  that  the  black  people  of  this  country 
ask.  We  do  not  ask  an}-  one  to  do  a  thing  for 
a  student  at  Tuskegee  which  the  student  is 
able  to  do  for  himself.  They  pay  their  own 
board,  partly  in  cash,  and  partly  in  labor. 
They  have  put  up  their  own  buildings  to  a 
greater  extent  than  in  any  other  institution  in 
the  country.  The  only  thing  which  they  can 
not  pay  is  the  fifty  dollars  each  for  tuition. 
We  do  not  ask  to  have  money  scattered  pro- 
miscuously among  our  people  in  the  South, 
but  simply  to  be  used  in  educating  one  or 
more  of  those  Christian  leaders,  who,  when 
they  have  received  their  education,  will  go  out 
into  other  villages  and  try  to  accomplish  the 


AWAKENING    Ot^   AMERICAN    NEGRO.      231 

work  of  making  the  colored  people  a  righteous 
and  thrifty  race. ' '  * 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  NEGRO. 

It  may  be  well  to  let  Mr.  Washington  him- 
self testify  as  to  the  future  of  the  American 
negro.     He  saj^s: 

It  is  a  deep-seated  belief  of  a  large  and 
influential  sedlion  of  the  American  people 
that  the  destiny  of  the  negro  element  of  the  citi- 
zenship— which  is  of  African  and  American 
origin,  and  which  has  been  for  two  centuries 
and  a  half  losing  its  generic  type  and  character 
— must  necessarily  be  different  from  that  of 
other  elements  of  the  population.  This  belief 
disclosed  itself  in  the  very  earliest  stages  of 
Colonial  life,  after  the  unfortunate  introdudlion 
of  African  slaver}-,  in  1620,  and  in  one  form 
and  another  it  has  made  itself  felt  and  heard 
in  all  departments  of  the  literary  life  of  the 

*  The  Institute  needs  an  adequate  endowment  fund, 
scholarships,  additional  buildings,  tools,  and  other 
outfits.  Fifty  dollars  furnishes  the  means  for  edu- 
cating a  student  for  one  year,  and  $1,000  establishes 
a  scholarship.  Already  the  graduates  contribute 
generously  to  the  current  expenses,  and  thereby 
show  their  appreciation  of  the  benefits  which  they 
have  derived  from  their  Alma  Mater. 


232  THE    MIRACLES    OF    MISSIONS. 

nation.  Indeed,  a  considerable  body  of  such 
literature  as  we  have  evolved  is  based  entirely 
upon  this  phase  of  the  subje(?t. 

The  American  Colonization  Society,  estab- 
lished in  the  early  days  of  the  Republic,  and 
with  which  have  been  associated  some  of  the 
best  and  ablest  public  men  of  the  country — 
such  men  as  Benjamin  Franklin,  Henry  Clay, 
and  others  of  equal  reputation — was  the  diredl 
outgrowth  of  this  sentiment.  The  Republic 
of  Liberia,  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  grew 
out  of  the  idea  as  propagated  by  the  American 
Colonization  Society.  But  in  spite  of  the  fadl 
that  this  society  and  the  republic  founded  and 
fostered  by  it,  have  steadil}'-  declined  in  pres- 
tige, the  idea  that  the  black  and  white  races 
can  not  occupy  the  same  territory  as  equals 
without  perpetual  antagonisms  remains  strong. 
Thomas  Jefferson,  the  greatest  Democrat,  and 
Abraham  Lincoln,  the  greatest  Republican, 
living  at  widel^^  separated  periods  of  our  his- 
tory, were  3^et  in  harmonious  agreement  upon 
this  vital  point. 

Mr.  Henry  W.  Grady,  of  Georgia,  the  most 


AWAKENING    OI'    AMERICAN    NEGRO.     233 

eloquent  apostle  of  the  white  new  South,  was 
firmly  of  the  opinion  that  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  would  always  dominate  the  Afro- Ameri- 
can race,  while  Mr.  E.  S.  Simmons,  a  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  bar,  has  just  issued  a 
book,  in  which  he  insists  that  race  separation 
is  the  only  safe  and  possible  solution  of  the 
race  problem;  and,  failing  to  effecfl  this  separa- 
tion, he  thinks  ' '  the  pages  of  the  future  his- 
torian will  be  marred  with  strife  between  the 
races,  riotous  outbreaks,  civil  war,  Southern 
soil  again  drenched  in  blood,  not  in  a  conflict 
of  arms  with  other  sedlions,  but  among  and 
between  the  inhabitants  of  our  own  fair  south- 
land." "Separate  the  two  races,"  Mr.  Sim- 
mons insists.  ' '  Cause  the  negro  to  move  to 
the  land  set  apart  for  him,  to  plant  his  own 
vine  and  fig  tree,  and  the  whites  living  upon 
the  same  soil  to  move  out,  and  make  room  for 
his  uninterrupted  course  of  self-government. ' ' 
Mr.  Simmons  thinks  that  the  white  people  of 
this  country  should  make  liberal  provision  for 
the  segregated  negro  people  in  the  territor>^ 
set  apart  for  them,  a  territory  of  some  sort. 


234  'I'HK    MIRACLES    OF    MISSIONS. 

somewhere,  in  which  the  white  man  shall  have 
no  place. 

But  the  idea  that  the  races  can  not  live  to- 
gether as  equals  on  the  same  soil  is  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  people. 
In  this  country  the  idea  is  entertained  by 
Bishop  Henry  M.  Turner,  who  has  a  large  fol- 
lowing, and  in  Africa  the  idea  is  almost  as 
general.  There  Dr.  Edward  W.  Blyden,  of 
Liberia,  perhaps  the  best-informed  man  of  his 
race  anywhere,  leads  the  thought  and  advo- 
cates segregation  as  the  only  possible  and  safe 
solution  of  the  race  problem.  But  how  this 
segregation  is  to  be  effedled,  even  in  Africa, 
where  the  European  whites  have  appropri- 
ated by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  territory 
of  the  blacks,  bringing  the  latter  into  sub- 
jedlion  and  conta(5l  with  white  colonists,  just 
as  they  have  done  in  the  United  States  and 
the  West  Indies  for  two  centuries,  does  not 
appear  to  worry  in  the  least  either  the  black  or 
the  white  advocates  of  the  idea.  Although 
the  whites  have  from  the  very  beginning,  even 
unto  the  present,  forced  themselves  into  con- 


AWAKENING   OF  AMERICAN   NEGRO.     235 

tadl  and  association  with  the  blacks,  and  are 
doing  so  to-day  more  than  ever  before,  the 
black  and  white  advocates  of  the  policy  of 
separation  lose  nothing  of  their  cheerfulness 
and  persistency  in  keeping  their  idea  where  it 
can  be  seen  and  heard.  They,  at  least,  deserve 
credit  for  sticking  to  the  theory  when  nothing 
but  the  theor}'  remains  to  them. 

But  there  is  another  class  of  people  who 
have  a  theory  that  God  permitted  the  Africans 
to  be  brought  to  America  and  undergo  a  long 
period  of  bondage,  in  order  that  they  might  fit 
themselves  by  Christian  civilization  to  eventu- 
ally return  to  their  native  land,  and  help  to 
redeem  the  millions  of  their  race  from  pagan- 
ism and  savager}.  This  view  of  the  matter 
was  long  a  convi6lion  of  the  leading  denomina- 
tions of  the  United  States,  and  is  largely  enter- 
tained now.  It  deserves  more  respecft  than 
any  other  view  of  the  matter  which  has  ever 
appealed  to  me,  as  a  pure  matter  of  specula- 
tion, a  theory.  There  can  be  no  question 
about  it  in  the  mind  of  any  Christian  that  as  a 
missionary  field   Africa  is  one  of  the  most  in- 


236  THE   MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

viting  to  be  found  anywhere,  and  that  it  should 
appeal  more  strongly  to  the  American  negro 
than  to  any  other  race  of  our  population.  It 
seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  young  negro  men  and  women 
who  have  been  graduating  from  our  schools 
and  colleges  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  25,000 
of  whom  are  now  engaged  in  the  work  of 
teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  the  South, 
would  have  turned  to  Africa  as  the  most  in- 
viting field  of  labor,  if  the  theory  that  the  race 
was  brought  here  by  Divine  Providence  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  itself  to  redeem  their 
brethren  from  moral  and  spiritual  death  in 
Africa  is  to  hold  good.  This  should  be  the 
proper  and  sufficient  test  of  the  theory  from 
any  point  of  view.  It  would  be  personally 
gratifying  to  me  if  a  very  large  number  of 
these  graduates  had  in  the  past  quarter  of  a 
century  gone  into  the  African  missionary  work, 
or  if  a  more  general  spirit  to  do  so  had  been 
shown,  as  the  evangelization  of  Africa,  or  of 
any  other  people  outside  the  Christian  fold, 
must  appeal  strongly  to  all  of  us  who  hope  for 


AWAKENING    OF    AMERICAN    NEGRO.     237 

the  winning  of  all  mankind  to  the  true  faith. 
But  no  great  number  of  them  has  done  so,  and 
no  general  disposition  to  do  so  has  been  shown. 
So  far,  the  work  of  evangelizing  Africa  has 
been  left  almost  entirely  to  the  white  churches 
of  America  and  Europe.  White  men  and 
women  have  thus  far  responded  to  the  call  for 
missionaries.  Responses  on  the  part  of  the 
blacks  of  the  United  States  and  the  West 
Indies  have  been  of  the  most  discouraging 
charadler,  and  the  financial  support  which 
negro  churches  have  given  to  further  the  work 
has  been  of  like  charadler.  The  advocates  of 
the  Divine  theor}-  of  preparation  have  been 
much  puzzled  and  confused  by  this  phase  of 
the  case,  but  mainly  because  they  have  been 
unable  to  see  or  to  reconcile  themselves  to  the 
fadl  that  there  are  other  phases  of  it  worthy  of 
consideration,  or  strong  enough  to  outweigh 
theirs.  In  this  view  they  have  been  as  per- 
sistent and  insistent  as  the  advocates  of  the 
theory  that  the  two  races  can  not  live  together 
in  the  same  territory  on  terms  of  friendship 
and  equalit3\ 


238  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

No  well-defined  plan  of  colonization  in 
Africa,  or  anywhere  else,  by  whomsoever  pro- 
posed, has  met  with  any  general  favor  among 
educated  negroes  in  the  United  States  or 
the  West  Indies.  The  masses  in  this  coun- 
try have  been  worked  up  to  some  sort  of  en- 
thusiasm from  time  to  time,  but  the  enthusiasm 
has  always  been  short-lived.  Reports  from 
those  who  have  gone  to  Africa  on  the  wave  of 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  time,  some  of  whom  have 
returned  to  this  countr}^,  have  alw^ays  been  such 
as  to  discourage  others  from  ' '  seeing  for  them- 
selves and  not  for  another."  Indeed,  it  has 
been  a  growing  convidlion  among  the  masses 
of  our  race  in  this  country  that  their  condition 
and  opportunities  are  vastly  better  in  the 
United  States  than  in  Africa,  or  any  where  else. 
I  believe  this  to  be  the  case,  and  I  further  be- 
lieve that  the  convidlion  will  grow  stronger 
with  the  years,  as  European  subjugation  of 
Africa  shall  proceed  and  develop  upon  the  lines 
that  it  has  long  proceeded  and  developed  in  the 
Pacific  Islands,  in  Australia,  and  in  the  East 
Indies.     And  this  is  true  because  the  Afro- 


AWAKENING   OF   AMERICAN   NEGRO.     239 

American  race  has  been  so  long  removed  from 
the  African  fatherland,  and  become  so  im- 
bued with  American  civilization,  that  it  has  at 
most  but  a  sentimental  interest  in  Africa  and 
the  African  people.  In  their  language  and  re- 
ligion and  customs  they  are  American,  as 
much  so  as  the  Europeans  who  have  come  here 
from  the  earliest  days  to  the  present  time.  As 
a  matter  of  fadl,  the  African  has  become  as 
thoroughly  engrafted  upon  American  life  as 
the  European,  and  loves  his  countrj^  with 
equal  devotion,  and  clings  to  it  with  equal 
tenacity,  and  resents  as  promptly  any  insinua- 
tion that  he  is  an  alien,  an  intruder,  and  that 
he  should  return  to  Africa  or  anywhere  else. 

The  Europeans  came  to  America  of  their 
own  determination,  at  great  personal  and  finan- 
cial sacrifice  ;  but  the  African  came  here  by 
special  invitation,  in  ships  provided  for  him, 
and  in  the  early  stages  of  his  residence  here, 
down  to  i860,  he  was  forcibly  restrained  in  any 
desire  he  may  have  had  to  return  to  his  father- 
land. Indeed,  he  was  considered  so  valuable 
a  personage  that  it  was  long  a  difficult  matter 


240  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

to  restrain  white  men  from  adding  indefinitely 
to  his  numbers  by  force  and  fraud.  Up  to 
i860  no  considerable  number  of  people  advo- 
cated that  the  African  was  an  alien,  an  in- 
truder here,  and  should  be  made  go  back  to 
his  home  beyond  the  seas.  He  represented 
nearly  $4,000,000,000  of  wealth  as  slave  prop- 
erty ;  he  was  the  basic  industrial  force  in 
eleven  of  the  richest  agricultural  States  in  the 
Republic.  He  was  regarded  as  the  best  and 
safest  labor  force  in  the  world,  and  perhaps  he 
was.  It  required  an  agitation  covering  a 
period  of  sixty  years  and  a  bloody  civil  war  to 
kill  him  as  a  slave  and  to  recreate  him  as  a 
freeman  ;  and  it  was  only  after  this  was  done, 
after  he  was  made  ' '  a  man  and  a  brother, ' ' 
that  it  was  discovered  that  he  was  an  alien,  an 
intruder,  and  that  he  should  go  back  to  Africa. 
It  was  all  right  for  him  to  remain  here  as  a 
slave,  but  it  was  all  wrong  for  him  to  remain 
here  as  a  free  man  !  It  was  all  right  for  him 
to  remain  here  as  a  degraded  creature,  without 
morality,  without  family  ties,  barred  out  of  the 
Christian  Church,  but  it  is  all  wrong  for  him 


AWAKENING  OF   AMERICAN   NKGRO.     24 1 

to  remain  here  as  a  Christian,  with  home  ties 
and  growing  stronger  and  stronger  every  year 
in  moral  force  !  All  this  reasoning  has  had 
the  changes  rung  upon  it  in  all  departments  of 
discussion  since  slavery  was  buried  beneath  a 
monument  of  black  and  white  bayonets  on  a 
hundred  battle-fields.  It  is  very  strange 
reasoning,  all  must  agree. 

But  there  is  still  a  third  class  of  persons,  by 
far  the  largest  and  most  influential,  who  have 
not  worried  at  all  over  the  speculative  theories 
of  the  possible  inabihty  of  the  races  to  dwell 
together  harmoniously  and  upon  terms  of 
equality,  and  upon  the  possible  purpose  of  God 
in  permitting  the  race  to  be  brought  here  and 
enslaved  in  order  that  it  might  the  better  fit 
itself  to  return  to  Africa  and  take  upon  itself 
the  work  of  evangelizing  its  people.  These 
good  people  had  no  pet  theory  about  the  mat- 
ter. They  belonged  the  great  Christian 
army,  who  believe,  as  William  Lloyd  Garrison 
expressed  it,  that  slavery  was  "  a  league  with 
death  and  a  covenant  with  hell,"  and  who 
buckled  on  the  armor   of  righteousness   and 

III— 16. 


242  THE   MIRACLES  OF   MISSIONS. 

created  the  sentiment  that  led  to  the  abolition 
of  slavery  and  the  enfranchisement  of  the  free- 
man. When  they  had  accomplished  this 
much,  instead  of  resting  from  their  labors, 
they  recognized  that  the  late  slave  population 
must  be  fitted  for  good  citizenship,  and  that 
this  could  be  done  only  at  the  expense  of  a 
great  deal  of  personal  sacrifice  and  financial 
outlay.  The  missionaries  who  followed  Gen. 
O.  O.  Howard,  Gen.  Armstrong,  President 
Ware,  President  Cravath,  President  Braden, 
and  other  pioneers,  in  laying  the  foundation  of 
the  educational  work  among  the  freedmen  of 
the  South,  were  no  less  heroic  than  the  brave 
men  who  followed  Grant  and  Sherman  to  vic- 
tory. Indeed,  these  missionaries  only  con- 
tinued the  work  where  the  disbanded  armies  of 
the  Republic  laid  it  down  at  Appomattox  Court 
House. 

These  missionaries  were  not  concerned  about 
the  speculative  questions  that  beset  the  race 
problem.  They  had  a  condition  and  not  a 
theory  to  deal  with,  and  right  nobly  did  they 
deal  with  it.     We  shall  search  the  history  of 


AWAKENING   OF   AMERICAN    NEGRO.     243 

philanthropic  and  missionary  effort  in  vain  for 
a  parallel  to  the  response  which  the  Christian 
men  and  women  of  the  nation  gave  to  the  cry 
for  help  that  went  up  from  the  Southern  Mace- 
donia immediately  after  the  war.  Men  and 
women  and  money  poured  into  the  Southern 
States,  so  that  of  a  truth  might  it  be  said  that 
a  schoolhouse  was  planted  upon  every  spot 
where  a  slave-audlion  block  had  stood.  And 
the  splendid  Christian  sentiment  which  grasped 
the  prac5lical  and  pressing  need  of  the  moment, 
and  planted  these  schools  of  learning  in  all  the 
Southern  States,  has  sustained  them  with 
lavish  expenditure  of  personal  service  and 
money  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  so  that  to- 
day they  represent  a  greater  outlay  than  that 
which  is  contributed  for  the  support  of  educa- 
tional and  evangelical  work  in  any  other 
quarter  of  the  globe.  It  is  impossible  to  esti- 
mate the  value  of  this  work  upon  the  future 
of  the  negro  race  in  this  country,  because  it 
has  made  any  reasonable  future  possible. 
Without  it  all  the  dark  forebodings  of  those 
who   *  *  see   through    a    glass    darkly  ' '  would 


244  I'HE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

have  been  possible.  The  church  and  the 
schoolhouse  have  made  the  future  of  the  negro 
race  identical  with  that  of  every  other  race-ele- 
ment of  our  population. 

It  has  been  with  an  abiding  faith  that  the 
negro  has  an  honorable  future  in  this  country 
and  that  that  future  depends  almost  entirely 
upon  the  church  and  the  school,  that  I  have 
sought  to  make  the  school  and  the  church  as 
strong  in  mental  and  moral  force  as  the  condi- 
tions would  permit,  and  to  do  what  I  could  to 
make  the  race  as  strong  as  possible  in  other 
direcftions  necessary  to  successful  manhood  and 
citizenship.  I  have  been  unable  to  reach  the 
conclusion  that  the  Afro-American  has  a  future 
in  this  country  in  any  way  different  from  that 
of  any  other  of  the  many  race-elements  that 
go  to  make  up  our  heterogeneous  population; 
hence  my  thought  and  effort  have  been  direcfled 
to  the  supreme  business  of  preparing  the  race 
to  meet  the  demands  made  upon  them  in  the 
condition  of  freedom,  demands  essentially 
different  from  those  made  upon  them  in  the 
condition  of  slavery;  and  it  is  gratifying  and 


AWAKENING   OP   AMERICAN   NEGRO.     245 

encouraging  to  all  interested  in  the  future  of 
the  negro  people  that  the  best  sentiment  of  the 
Southern  States  has  joined  forces  with  the  best 
sentiment  of  the  Northern  States  to  sustain 
those  engaged  in  this  necessary  work  of  prep- 
aration. The  negro  is  not  only  given  an  op- 
portunity to  get  a  public-school  and  academic 
education,  such  as  was  never  before  given  to  a 
people  in  similar  circumstances,  but  he  has 
been  given  advantages  for  material  develop- 
ment such  as  proves  beyond  a  shadow  of  doubt 
that  there  are  more  people  in  this  country,  in 
the  North  and  in  the  South,  who  wish  him 
well  and  desire  him  to  succeed  than  there  are 
who  wish  him  harm  and  desire  that  he  may 
fail.  Indeed,  we  hear  much  more  in  one  way 
and  another  about  the  enemies  of  the  negro 
race  than  we  do  about  its  friends;  but  the  fac5l 
remains  that  the  negro  has  friends,  and  plenty 
of  them,  in  all  sedlions  of  the  country,  and  that 
if  he  should  not  succeed  finally,  it  will  not  be 
because  opportunity  was  denied  him,  but  be- 
cause nature  withheld  from  him  the  elements 
of  charac5ler  that  make  for  success. 


246  THK  MIRACLES  OF   MISSIONS. 

I  think  I  understand  the  needs  and  the  hm- 
itations  of  my  race,  and  am  not  given  to  draw- 
ing a  pi(5lure  of  what  it  has  accomplished, 
which  would  not  stand  the  severest  test,  or  of 
underrating  what  it  needs  to  accomplish;  with 
the  fa(5ls  of  the  situation  before  me,  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  race  will  continue  to  grow  in 
mental,  moral,  and  material  force  with  the 
years,  and  that  it  will  become  a  valuable  and 
indispensable  fa(5lor  of  the  American  citizen- 
ship. When  all  the  facfls  of  the  race's  condi- 
tion at  the  close  of  the  war  are  considered,  it 
must  be  conceded  by  all  candid  men  that  in 
the  condition  of  freedom  it  has  not  failed  at 
all,  but  has  made  splendid  use  of  the  opportu- 
nities it  has  enjoyed,  and  that,  having  laid  in 
some  sort  a  foundation  in  the  first  quarter  of  a 
century  of  its  freedom,  so  that  everywhere  it 
is  a  self -depending  and  self-supporting  race,  in 
the  next  quarter  of  a  century  it  is  fair  to  con- 
clude that  it  will  make  better  use  of  those 
opportunities,  so  that  more  and  more  it  will 
justify  the  expedlations  of  those  who  have 
stood  by  it  in  the  sunshine  and  in  the  shadow, 


AWAKENING   OF   AMERICAN   NEGRO.     247 

in    the    calm    and    in    the    storm    of    life's 
struggle. 

The  future  of  the  negro  race  depends  more 
upon  the  negro  himself  than  upon  any  other 
agency.  He  was  brought  to  this  country  to 
serve  a  purpose,  and  he  will  serve  it,  in  the 
time  and  the  manner  which  God  designed  long 
ago,  before  the  corner-stones  of  the  greatest 
republic  of  all  times  were  laid  broad  and  deep 
in  the  greatest  religious,  civil,  and  political 
liberty  for  the  individual  consistent  with  the 
public  good.  When  the  negro  has  changed 
his  condition,  as  he  is  doing,  from  one  of 
ignorance  and  poverty  to  one  of  general  intel- 
ligence and  wealth,  his  color  will  cut  a  much 
smaller  figure  than  it  has  done  in  the  past,  in 
affecfling  him  in  all  directions  in  his  manhood 
and  his  citizenship. 


No.  XIII. 

Ramabai  and  thb  Women-  of  India. 

ISTORY  circles  around  individuals, 
and  to  understand  events  we  must 
study  the  lives  of  these  central 
actors.  The  most  prominent  figure 
among  the  women  of  the  Orient  in  our  day  is 
Pundita  Ramabai,  whose  work  in  India  is 
becoming  so  well  known,  and  awakening  such 
deep  interest  the  world  over. 

The  census  of  1891  showed  289,000,000 
people  in  India,  with  625,000  more  men  than 
women,  owing  to  the  low  status  of  woman  and 
the  murder  of  female  infants.  Those  who  are 
not  starved  to  death  or  otherwise  disposed  of 
in  infancy,  find  life  so  miserable  that  many  be- 
come suicides.  The  men  rank  as  ' '  golden 
vessels,"  however  defiled  the  vessel  may  be, 
but  it  is  a  crime  to  be  a  woman;  she  is  but  an 
earthen  vessel,  and  a  very  unclean  one. 
Especially  is  a  widow  despised,  for  her  hus- 
band's death  is  supposed  to  be  due  to  her  sin. 
248 


RAMABAI    AND   WOMEN   OF    INDIA.        249 

The  suttee  was,  therefore,  deemed  a  fit  penalty. 
Cattle  have  had  hospitals,  but  not  until  fifteen 
years  ago  was  a  woman  treated  with  as  much 
consideration  as  a  cow.  Everything  about 
that  animal  is  sacred,  even  to  her  dung,  but 
now  only  where  Christ  has  taught  the  new 
theology  of  womanhood  is  woman  respedled. 
Widows  are  plenty,  for  every  fifth  woman  is  a 
widow;  and  although  despised,  they  are  con- 
sidered good  enough  for  servile  work.  When 
no  longer  able  to  serv^e,  they  are  allowed  to  die 
like  other  beasts  of  burden.  As  the  nightin- 
gale's eyes  must  be  put  out  if  it  is  expe<5led  to 
sing  in  its  cage,  education  is  denied  to  woman, 
and  the  eyes  of  her  understanding  are  blinded 
lest  she  rebel  against  her  lot.  Not  one  in  fifty 
can  read,  not  to  say  write.  Volumes  have 
been  written  upon  woman  in  India,*  for  in  no 


*The  following  authorities  may  be  consulted: 
Bainbridge,  "Round  the  World  Tour;"  Woodside, 
"Woman  in  India;"  Stewart,  "Life  and  Work  in 
India;"  Wilkins,  "  Daily  Life  and  Work  in  India;" 
Storrow,  "Our  Sisters  in  India;"  Mrs.  Armstrong- 
Hopkins,  "Behind  the  Purdah;"  "Wrongs  of  In- 
dian Womanhood,"  T/ie  Bombay  Gnardian,  etc.,  etc. 


250  TH^   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

one  country,  perhaps,  is  woman  so  bound  down 
by  chains  wrought  of  combined  custom  and 
law,  caste  and  religion.  Womanhood  is 
crushed  out  because  hope  is  abandoned  by  all 
those  who  enter  woman's  estate.  Even  the 
sacred  books  sandlion  this  horrible  degrada- 
tion. According  to  these,  she  has  no  legal  or 
social  status,  no  rights  which  a  man  is  bound 
to  respedl.  She  is  not  capable  of  any  acfts  of 
devotion  ;  is  to  obey  her  husband,  however 
immoral  his  commands,  and  worship  him  if 
she  would  have  salvation.  She  is  an  incarna- 
tion of  sin  and  lying,  and  can  not  be  believed 
under  oath.  The  results  of  such  a  system  of 
society  are,  of  course,  not  only  child  marriage 
and  polygamy,  but  infanticide,  slavery,  prosti- 
tution, and  the  suttee. 

CHILD   WIVES   AND   WIDOWS. 

The  last  census  taken  in  the  presidency  of 
Madras  throws  a  lurid  light  on  the  terrible 
evils  of  the  accursed  system  of  child  marriage 
in  this  great  eastern  empire.  It  showed  23,- 
938  girls  under  four  years  of  age,  and  142,606 


A  Young  Hindu  Child  Widow  and  Her 
Adopted  Child. 


RAMABAI    AND    WOMEN    OF    INDIA.        25 1 

between  the  ages  of  five  and  nine  married;  988 
baby  widows  under  four  j-ears  of  age,  and 
4,147  girl  widows  between  five  and  nine  years 
of  age.  There  are  two  ceremonies  in  connec- 
tion with  an  Indian  marriage.  Should  the 
bridegroom  die  between  the  first  and  second 
of  these  ceremonies,  the  little  bride  becomes  a 
widow,  doomed  to  lifelong  wretchedness  and 
ignominy.  Many  little  girls  are  married  to 
old  men  tottering  on  the  verge  of  the  grave, 
and  this  again  aggravates  the  evil.  In  the 
Madras  presidency  alone  are  some  60,000 
Brahman  widows,  widowed  in  childhood,  and 
doomed  for  life  to  the  coarse  white  cloak  and 
shaven  head  of  the  woman  who  is  cursed  by 
the  gods. 

The  unhapp3^  lot  of  Indian  widows  is  par- 
tially described  in  the  following  native  edito- 
rial extracft  from  the  Arya  Messenger  of  Dec. 
I  St.  This  paper  devotes  much  time  and  thought 
to  the  glorification  of  everything  indigenous, 
and  its  testimony  regarding  the  sad  lot  of  its 
womankind  is,  therefore,  particularly  valuable. 
Were  a  missionary  to  use  the  language  of  this 


252  THE  MIRACLES  OF   MISSIONS. 

extradl,  he  would  at  once  be  accused  of  men- 
dacious exaggeration,  or  something  equally 
terrible.     The  extra(5l  is  thus: 

"There  are  at  present  out  of  6,016,759  mar- 
ried girls  between  Jive  and  nine  years  of  age, 
174,000  widows  in  India,  These  unfortunate 
creatures  are  condemned  to  a  life  of  perpetual 
widowhood,  for  no  fault  of  their  own.  These  in- 
fants, what  could  they  have  possibly  done  to  de- 
serve so  cruel  a  fate  ?  They  could  have  abso- 
lutely no  idea  of  the  moment  when  they  were  be- 
trothed, and  most  of  them  could  have  no  idea 
of  the  time  when  they  were  married.  They 
had  no  hand  in  the  choice  of  husbands  for 
themselves,  their  parents  bestowed  them  on 
whomsoever  they  chose,  and  now,  before  they 
have  fairly  learned  to  talk,  they  are  husband- 
less,  doomed  never  to  know  the  joys  of  a  home. 
It  is  impossible  to  imagine  anything  more 
heartless,  anything  more  savage  and  barbarous 
than  the  treatment  which  has  been  accorded  to 
these  unhappy  girls  by  their  misguided  parents. 
Why  should  they  have  been  betrothed  and 
wedded    when    mere    infants,    and    on   what 


RAMABAI    AND    WOMEN    OF    INDIA.        253 

grounds  can  it  be  justified  that  their  future 
shall  be  dark  and  dreary— a  succession  of 
miseries  and  sufferings  ?  No  law,  human  or 
Divine,  can  justify  such  a  thing,  and  since  it 
is  an  outrage  upon  Divine  teaching  and  upon 
man's  own  sense  of  justice,  it  is  but  natural 
that  we  should  suffer  for  it.  And  we  do  suffer 
for  it  in  a  thousand  ways,  and  we  know  it. 
What  can  be  more  ridiculous,  more  monstrous 
than  that  while  a  decrepit,  spent-out  old  man, 
with  one  foot  in  the  grave,  can  marr^^  a  young 
girl  at  any  time,  a  virgin,  who  is  in  the  prime 
of  life,  who  has  not  as  yet  lived  in  the  world 
one-fifth  the  time  the  old  man  has,  should  be 
absolutely  denied  the  right  of  taking  some 
young  man  as  husband!  The  father  of  a 
widow  of  eight  or  nine  years  old  may  marry 
again  when  he  chooses,  but  the  poor  girl 
herself  must  never!  This  is  a  state  of 
things  which  exists  nowhere  else  under  the 
sun." 

There  is  no  real  family  life  in  India.  There 
could  not  be  when  Hindu  philosophy  teaches 
that    ''  He  is  a  fool  who  considers  his  wife  his 


254  THE   MIRACI.es  of   MISSIONS. 

friend. ' '  A  few  extracfts  from  a  Hindu  cate- 
chism give  some  idea  of  the  basis  for  the  ill- 
treatment  of  Indian  women: 

What  is  the  chief  gate  to  hellf     Woman. 

What  is  cruel  f    The  heart  of  a  viper. 

What  is  more  cruel  ?   The  heart  of  a  woman. 

What  is  most  cruel  of  all  f  The  heart  of  a 
soulless,  penniless  widow. 

What  poison  is  that  which  appears  like  a  nec- 
tar f     Woman. 

The  marriage  of  girls  to  Khandoba  is  a  cus- 
tom which,  like  sodomy,  can  not  be  treated  in 
plain  words,  as  it  belongs  among  the  things  of 
which  it  is  "a  shame  to  speak."  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  it  implies  a  devotement  to  a  life  of 
vice  as  a  murli,  and  reminds  one  of  the  similar 
customs  connedled  with  the  rites  of  Venus  and 
Bacchus.  Parents  lend  themselves  to  these 
nameless  horrors,  and  additions  to  the  Indian 
penal  code  have  been  direcfled  to  the  mitiga- 
tion, if  not  abolition,  of  these  enormities. 

THE   STORY   OF   RAMABAI. 

Ramabai    is    a    middle-aged   woman,  with 


RAMABAI    AND   WOMEN   OF    INDIA.        255 

black  hair;  she  is  slightly  deaf,  and  a  quiet 
atmosphere  of  power  invests  her.  She  talks 
with  intelligence,  and  is  heard  everywhere 
with  profound  interest — the  more  so  as  the 
fadts  of  her  life  are  known. 

This  woman  has  a  romantic  history.  Her 
mother  was  herself  a  child-bride,  wedded  to  a 
widower  at  nine  years  of  age,  and  taken  to  a 
home  nine  hundred  miles  away.  Ramabai 
learned  many  lessons  from  her  mother's  lips, 
who  would  not  marry  her  in  infancy,  and  so 
' '  throw  her  into  the  well  of  ignorance. ' '  Her 
father,  who  was  an  educated  Brahman  priest, 
had  her  taught  Sanskrit  and  trained  her  well. 
He  lost  all  his  property,  and,  after  enduring 
fearful  suffering  with  his  wife  and  eldest 
daughter,  fell  a  vicftim  to  the  awful  famine  of 
twenty-five  years  ago — 1874-77.  Everything 
of  value  was  sold  for  bread,  and  then  even  the 
necessities  of  life  had  to  yield  before  its  ex- 
tremities; and  the  day  came  when  the  last 
handful  of  coarse  rice  was  gone,  and  death 
stared  them  in  the  face.  They  went  into  the 
forest  to  die  there,   and  for  eleven  days  and 


256  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

nights  subsisted  on  water  and  leaves  and  wild 
dates,  until  the  father,  who  wanted  to  drown 
himself  in  the  sacred  tank,  died  of  fever,  as 
also  the  mother  and  sister.  The  father's  dying 
prayers  for  Ramabai  were,  indeed,  addressed 
to  the  unknown  God,  but  have  been  answered 
by  the  true  God,  who  heard  the  supplications 
of  a  sincere  but  misguided  father.  Then  the 
brother  and  Ramabai  found  their  way  to  Cal- 
cutta, where  they  were  scarcely  better  off,  being 
still  half  starved,  and  for  four  years  longer 
endured  scarcity.  There  this  brother  also 
died — a  very  strange  preparation  for  the  life- 
work  to  which  God  called  Ramabai.  When 
twenty- two  years  old,  her  parents  being  dead, 
in  a  period  of  famine,  during  which  she  suf- 
fered both  for  lack  of  food  and  clothing,  as 
well  as  shelter,  she  learned  a  lesson  which  pre- 
pared her  to  S3^mpathize  with  others  who  suf- 
fered. Life's  sorrows  and  privations  became 
a  reality. 

Left  thus  alone,  her  beauty  and  culture  won 
her  the  coveted  title,  saravasti,  and  attradled 
to  her  friends  and  admirers.     Finallv  she  mar- 


RAMABAI   AND   WOMEN   OF   INDIA.        257 

ried  a  Bengali  gentleman,  and  for  about  eight- 
een months  was  happy  in  her  new  home,  a 
baby  girl  being  given  her.  But  her  husband's 
death  introduced  a  new  experience  of  sorrow. 
The  world  was  before  her  and  her  child,  and 
two  grave  questions  confronted  her:  First, 
how  shall  I  get  a  living?  and  second,  what 
shall  I  do  for  others  ? 

Ramabai,  being  thus  early  left  a  widow, 
began  to  know  the  real  horror  of  a  Hindu 
widow's  lot,  and  resolved  to  undertake,  as  her 
life  mission,  to  relieve  this  misery  and  poverty. 
Her  heart  kindled  with  love  for  these  25,000,- 
000  child  widows  and  deserted  wives,  who 
know  no  happiness;  who  are  often  half  starved, 
are  doomed  to  perpetual  widowhood,  and  to 
whom  their  departed  husbands  are  pradlically 
gods  to  be  worshiped. 

At  the  age  of  twenty  Ramabai  went  to  Eng- 
land, where  she  heard  the  Voice  that  called 
Abraham  to  go  out,  not  knowing  whither,  and 
like  him  she  obeyed.  There  she  was  converted 
to  Christ,  and  baptized  in  1883.  She  taught 
Sanskrit  in  the  ladies'  college  at  Cheltenham, 


258  THE   MIRACI.KS   OF   MISSIONS. 

her  purposes  for  life  meanwhile  taking  definite 
shape. 

About  twelve  years  ago  she  visited  America, 
where  she  found  friends  disposed  to  help  her 
start  a  school  for  high-caste  widows  in  Bombay. 
She  began  with  two  pupils,  but,  despite  opposi- 
tion and  ridicule,  she  went  on  with  her  God- 
appointed  mission,  and  now  has  over  400  pupils, 
and  a  property  worth  $60,000,  embracing  a 
hundred  acres,  cultivated  by  them.  About 
225  girls  have  been  brought  to  Christ,  and 
many  have  been  trained  for  useful  work, 
happily  married,  or  otherwise  profitably  em- 
ployed. In  nine  years  Pundita  Ramabai  has 
received  upward  of  $91,000  for  the  work. 
For  a  time  her  attitude  was  negative  and 
neutral  as  regards  Christianity,  but  her 
work  is  now  distincflly  evangelical  and  Chris- 
tian. I/)ve  is  its  atmosphere,  and  unselfish 
labor  for  those  who  are  in  need,  as  is  shown 
by  the  opening  of  her  doors  lately  to  wel- 
come 300  famine  orphans.  Through  help 
obtained  in  England  and  the  United  States 
she  built   at   Poona  a  building,  and   opened 


RAMABAI    AND   WOMEN   OF    INDIA.        259 

a    school    called   Sharada   Sadan    (Abode   of 
Wisdom). 

In  1896,  hearing  of  the  famine  desolating 
the  central  provinces,  she  made  arrangements 
for  the  fifty  or  more  widows  to  be  cared  for  at 
Poona,  and  went  to  the  famine  distridl  resolved 
to  rescue  at  least  300  girls  from  death;  and 
these  became  her  own,  under  her  control,  to  be 
brought  up  as  she  pleased.  Within  two  years 
nearly  one-third  of  this  number  had  accepted 
Christ.  These  were  placed  on  the  farm  at 
Kedgaun,  about  thirty-four  miles  from 
Poona. 

One  must  have  lived  in  India  and  gone 
through  a  famine  experience  to  understand  the 
fadls.  Government  poorhouses  and  relief 
camps  she  found  to  be  inadequate;  even  where 
the  bodies  were  sheltered  and  fed,  the  soul  was 
in  danger  from  the  charadler  of  those  who 
were  emplo3^ed  as  mukadams,  managers,  etc. 
She  found  young  girls  ' '  kept ' '  for  immoral 
purposes  in  these  government  shelters,  where 
virtue  was  presumably  also  in  shelter;  and 
when  the  deput}^  commissioner  was  told  of  the 


26o  THS   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

facfls,  like  Gallic,  he  **  cared  for  none  of  these 
things."  Ramabai  says  that  young  women 
had  to  sell  their  virtue  to  save  themselves 
from  starvation.  British  soldiers  often  oppose 
missionary  labor  because  it  breaks  up  this  in- 
fernal traffic  in  virtue.  Dr.  Kate  Bushnell  and 
Mrs.  Andrew  exposed  the  doings  of  high  mili- 
tary officers,  and  further  exposures  are  feared 
where  godly  women  have  freedom  to  work. 

During  the  late  famine,  when  Poona  was 
abandoned,  Ramabai  was  supporting  372  girls, 
of  whom  337  were  in  Kedgaun,  at  the  farm, 
while  the  rest  were  at  different  places.  When 
this  farm  was  bought,  embracing  100  acres, 
the  government  would  not  allow  dormitories 
to  be  put  up.  Ramabai 's  reply  was,  "  I  will 
build  a  barn  for  bullocks  and  grain."  She 
went  on  and  put  up  a  large  building,  and  by 
the  time  it  was  completed,  she  had  permission 
to  put  girls  in  it  instead  of  cattle.  Thus  she 
stored  it  with  "grain  for  the  Lord."  That 
"  cattle-shed  "  became  a  shelter  for  200  famine 
widows,  and  later  served  as  schoolhouse, 
chapel,  dormitory,  etc.      Temporary  shelters 


RAMABAI    AND    WOMEN   OF   INDIA.        26 1 

were  also  ere(5led  and  the  new  settlement  was 
called Mukti  (Salvation). 

The  work  at  Mukti  is  constantly  growing, 
and  has  the  growing  confidence  of  intelligent 
and  Christian  people.  The  new  buildings  now 
completed  are  already  insufficient  to  accommo- 
date the  inmates,  and  new  buildings  will  be 
put  up  as  fast  as  the  Lord  sends  means.  The 
heart  of  this  godly  woman  travails  for  souls, 
and  she  can  not  see  the  misery  and  poverty 
about  her  without  yearning  to  relieve  it.  A 
few  poor  women,  ruined  by  vice  and  terribly 
diseased,  are  housed  for  the  time  in  separate 
chuppee  huts,  until  a  home  for  such  can  be 
provided. 

This  home  is  not  a  place  of  idleness,  but  a 
hive  of  industry.  Education  for  the  mind,  sal- 
vation for  the  soul,  and  occupation  for  the 
body  is  the  threefold  law;  washing  and  weav- 
ing, cooking  and  sweeping,  growing  grain  and 
grinding  it,  flower  culture  and  fruit  raising — 
these  are  some  of  the  industries  in  which  the 
girls  are  trained,  and  which  contribute  to  their 
self-support. 


262  THE   MIRACLES   OF    MISSIONS. 

The  teachers  are  exclusively  Christian,  and 
the  settlement  is  a  truly  missionary  center. 
Miss  Abrams,  who  superintended  the  work  in 
Ramabai's  absence,  gives  her  whole  time  to  it, 
giving  Bible  instrudlion  in  the  school,  and 
supervising  the  village  work.  She  had  only 
to  suggest  to  students  a  pledge  like  that  of  the 
student  volunteers,  and  thirty-five  at  once 
offered  to  follow  any  leading  of  God  into  mis- 
sion work.  A  score  of  neighboring  villages 
are  already  accessible  to  the  Gospel,  and 
crowds  gather  around  Miss  Abrams  and  her 
Gospel  women. 

The  Holy  Spirit  works  with  Ramabai.  The 
girls  show  real  sorrow  for  sin,  and  hunger  after 
salvation.  Then  when  they  are  saved,  they 
become  witnesses,  and  in  their  own  simple  way 
tell  of  forgiveness  and  cleansing.  In  the 
hospital  there  are  also  frequent  manifestations 
of  God's  healing  power. 

When  she  set  up  her  school  in  Poona 
Ramabai  made  no  efforts  at  proselyting  the 
inmates;  but  some  five  or  six  years  ago  twelve 
or  thirteen  of  them,  won  to  Christ  by  her  un- 


RAMABAI    AND    WOMEN    OF    INDIA.        263 

selfish  love,  renounced  heathenism,  and  were 
baptized  into  Christ.  Poona  was  greatly 
aroused  by  such  an  event,  and  for  a  time  it 
seemed  as  though  the  home  itself  would  be 
reduced  to  a  ruin.  Ramabai  called  a  public 
meeting,  and  undertook  to  explain  why  these 
widows  had  accepted  Christ.  The  streets 
were  thronged  with  people,  and  a  crowd  of 
young  mea  filled  the  hall  where  she  was  to 
speak.  Without  a  sign  of  anxiety,  Ramabai 
stood  up  to  address  them.  She  spoke  of  the 
moral  and  spiritual  slavery  of  the  Hindus ; 
how  incapable  they  are  of  helping  themselves, 
while  they  are  asking  for  political  freedom  ; 
how  unhappy  their  family  life  is,  and  especially 
how  miserable  is  the  lot  of  their  women. 
Then,  holding  up  the  Marathi  Bible,  she  said  : 
* '  I  will  read  to  you  now  what  is  the  reason 
of  all  your  misery,  degradation,  and  helpless- 
ness; it  is  your  separation  from  the  living 
God!  "  It  was  growing  dark,  and  she  asked 
one  of  the  excited  Hindu  youths  to  bring  a 
lamp  that  she  might  read.  Without  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation  he  obeyed.     After  reading 


264  THE   MIRACLES   OF   MISSIONS. 

some  passages,  she  began  to  speak  of  the  con- 
versions of  the  widows,  and  then  said:  "Your 
view  of  my  adlions  can  not  influence  me  in  the 
least,  nor  can  your  threatenings  frighten  me. 
You  like  to  be  slaves;  I  am  free!  Christ,  the 
truth,  has  made  me  free."  The  excitement 
was  tremendous,  and  the  Brahmans  only  re- 
strained themselves  with  difficulty;  but  they 
heard  her  out  to  the  end  in  dead  silence,  and 
allowed  her  to  walk  uninjured  through  their 
ranks  to  her  home. 

The  storm  passed  away,  and  the  home  re- 
mained undisturbed — sheltering  some  sixty 
women,  and  training  them  for  lives  of  useful- 
ness. The  Sharada  Sadan  is  still  a  secular 
school,  but  Mukti  is  distincftly  Christian, 
though  unsedlarian. 

Pundita  Ramabai  has  made  two  visits  to 
this  country.  Once  ten  or  eleven  years  ago, 
when  she  came  to  ask  aid,  and  again,  more 
recently,  w^hen  she  came  to  give  account  of  her 
stewardship.  During  this  decade  of  years  the 
Ramabai  circles  had  sent  her  upward  of  80,000 
dollars.     Fifty   thousand  dollars  of  this  she 


RAMABAI    AND    WOMEN   OF   INDIA.       265 

had  invested  in  property,  free  from  debt,  and 
over  350  high-caste  widows  have  already  en- 
joyed the  benefits  of  her  school,  and  are  now 
filling  various  places  of  self-support  and  ser- 
vice. 


i      By  ARTHUR  T.  PIERSON,  D.D.      J 

\ 

I  The  Miracles  of  Missions  \ 

f  FIRST   SERIES  J 

►  Intensely  interesting  marvels  and  tales  of  J 
I    heroism   upon  the  world-wide  mission  field   2 

J  CONTENTS :  « 

>  The  Apostles  of  the  South  Seas  The  Syrian  MartjT  J 
E  Among  the  %nQs  of  Glasgow  The  Land  of  the  mite  Elephant  ^ 
[  TheWildMen'ofBurmah  Mission  to  the  Blind  of  China  j 
f  The  land  of  Queen  Esther  The  Home  of  the  Inquisition  J 
I  The  light  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  Wonderful  Story  of  Madagascar  J 
I                       The  Converts  and  Martyrs  of  I'ganda  J 

"It  is  a  record  of  marvelous  achievements,  and  in  a    a 
world  of  heroism  by  the  side  of  which  the  Napoleonic 
valor  i)alesr— Christian  Leader,  Boston. 

"In  reading  it  one  is  intensely  interested  and  perfectly 
amazed.''— Christian  Nation,  New  York. 

"This  book  tells  some  of  the  signs  — the  miracles  — 
^vrought  by  the  Almighty,  testifying  His  Presence  m  he 
labor!  of  consecrated  men  and  women  of  the  MibSiou 
fields."— Bera^(^  of  Gospel  Liberty. 

"It  has  the  merit  of  pungency  and  brevity.  •  •  •  Of 
much  interest  and  usefulness."— T7te  Independent, 
New  York.  5 

"It  sums  up  conveniently  and  even  fascinatingly  the  A 
achievements  of  modern  missions  in  their  most  telhng  J 
aspects.  It  is  a  book  for  the  preacher's  study,  for  Ipcal  « 
missionary  bands,  and  is  a  ready  argument  to  P^it  into  J 
the  hands  of  skeptics." -T/ie  ApostoUe  Guide,  j 
Louisville.  5 

"It  shows  clearly  God's  miracles,  working  power  in  J 
conversions  in  all  lands.  The  book  is  a  glorious  witness  J 
to  the  divine  power  of  Christianity."— Gospef  tn  All  J 
Lands,  New  York.  2 

Illustrated,  12mo,  Cloth,  gilt-top,  i 

$1.00;  Pajier,  33  cents,  post-free.  < 

\   FUNK  &.  WAGNALLS  COMPANY,  Publishers,   i 
*                        30  Lafayette  Place,  New  York.  ^ 

t  ^^. ^^jA 


I      By  ARTHUR  T.  PIERSON,  D.D.      \ 

\  The  Miracles  of  Missions 


SHCO^D    SBRIKS 


jn    Christianity  proved  by  records   of   marvelous  ^ 

>  achievements. 
> 

>  CONTENTS : 

in    Modern  Marvels  in  Formosa  The  Cannibals  of  Fiji 

^    The  Bishop  of  the  Niger  Moffat  and  Africaner 

r    The  Story  of  Tahiti  Livingstone' s  Body  Guard 

^    Midnight  and  Day-Dawn  at  Hawaii     The  McAll  Mission  in  France 

>  The  Pentecost  in  Hilo                     The  Pentecost  of  Banza  Manteke 
J    Moral  Revolution  at  Sierra  leone        The  Story  of  New  Zealand 
1^                        Wonders  Vfrought  in  the  \\'est  Indies  j 

?       '•  The  book  tells  not  of  things  hoped  for  bnt  of  things  J 

P    accomplished.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  eiories  read  like  tales  2 

P    of  enchantment,  and  can  not  fail  to  kindle  enthusiasm  J 

P    anew.'"— CJivistian  Leader,  Boston.  j 

||i       "It  is  an  inptmctive  and  impressive  volume." — The  d 

>ii     Watclinian,  Boston.  j 

>  "  Every  lover  of  mission  work  will  find  it  invaluable."  < 
t*  —CJtristian  Work,  New  York.  < 
?  "It  is  a  cheerful  recital  of  gospel  conquests,  in  fields  J 
F  that  to  human  eyes  were  unpromising." — Michignn  2 
L     Christian  A.dvocate.  2 

E"Dr.   A.  T.  Pierson,  in  his  'Miracles  of  Missions,'  ^tj 

boldly  asserts  direct  providential  manifestations  in  these  ^ 

days,  finding  in  the  history  of  modern  missions  many  ^ 

pi    wonderfnl  occurrences  equal  to  those  of  the  apostolic  ^ 

^    age."— T/te  World,  New  York.  ^ 

>  "This  book  takes  us  away  from  the  centers  of  civili-  i 

(zation,  of  materialism,  of  skepticism,  of  theoretical  be-  i 

lief— but  actual  unbelief— to  the  heathen  world,  to  godly  A 

*    men  and  women  sacrificing  all  for  the  service  of  Christ."  < 

!>   —Christian  Standard,  Philadelphia.  4 


ft  Illustrated,  12nio,  Cloth,  gilt-top,  j 

I  $1.00  ;  Paper,  35  cents  ;  post-free.  <| 

\  * 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY,  Publishers,   t 
J  30  Lafayette  Place,  New  York.  J 


'VW  vw 


^      By  ARTHUR  T.  PIERSON,  D.D. 

I  "Tit  €brl$t  3c$tt$" 

►  Or  the  Sphere  of  the  Believer's  Life 

S>  This  practical  little  book  seeks  to  demonstrate 
l>  the  boundless  range  and  scope  and  the  numer- 
al ous  applications  of  the  phrase  which  forms 
k  '  its  title.     The  particular  application  of  this 

►  phrase  is  considered  separately  as  it  occurs 

►  in  Paul's  epistles.     There  ai-e  eight  illustra- 
tive charts. 


The  Presbyterian,  Xew  York :  "  This  Is  a  very  spir- 
itual and  devotional  book,  abounding  la  stimulating  and 
refresliing  instruction." 

Herald  and  Presbyter,  Cincinnati:  -'The  book  is 
written  in  a  devout  and  helpful  spirit,  aud  can  not  fail  to 
encourage  and  benefit  ail  classes  of  Cbrlstlans," 

r  The  Boston  Journal:   "Through  the  Epistles  of 

J  Paul  the  phrase  is  traced,  and  the  signilicance  of  Its  occur- 

W  rence  is  commented  upon,  and  the  conclusion  that  the  be- 

i^  never  finds  in  Christ  a  new  sphere  of  life  Is  elaborated  In  a 

»  manner  which  may  prove  of  interest." 

P  The  Boston  Times  s  "  The  little  book  by  Rev.  Arthur 

p  T  Pierson  is  full  of  Inspiration  for  Christian  workers.   The 

Iff  meaning  of  the  phrase  '  In  Christ  Jesus  '  is  clearly  expressed 

h  by  a  diagram  showing  a  circle  within  which  the  faithful 

L  find  the  Savior,  and  out  of  which  evil  spirits,  sin,  and  wick- 

r  edness  press.    The  author  shows  with  clearness  and  power 

f  the  true  sl.snlflcance  of  association  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  It 

J  is  a  thougiitful  gift-book  for  the  devout." 

t  The  Consrregationalist,  Boston;  "It  Is  a  help  to  the 

r  devotional  life  and  somethmg  more.    It  emphasizes  justifl 

f  cation,  sanctification,  fellowship  with  God.  exaltation,  com- 

w  pensatlon  for  suffering,  identification  with  Christ,  and  the 

P»  final  glorification  of  tha  believer." 

6*  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  Xashville.Tenn.t  "For 

P  preachers  and  Sunday-school  teachers  it  Is  especially  sug- 

bt    gestlve."  

»  12mo,  Clotb,  Cover  Design. 

P  Price,    60   cents,  post-paid. 


I  FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY,  Publishers, 

t  30  Lafayette  Place,  New  York. 


e^ubarine  of  Siena 

The  Life  Story  of  a  Wonderful  Woman. 

The  life  of  Catharine  of  Siena  is  one  of  the  most  j 

wonderful  and  fascinating  bio^aphics  in  medieval  A 

history.     In  the  midst  of  ecclesiastical  corruption  j 

this  "  daughter  of  the  people  "  rose  to  be  a  tower  of  ^ 

strength  for  purifying  the  church  and  ministering  to  < 

the  people.    With  a  faith  which  swept  all  before  it,  ^ 

her  influence  swayed  cardinals,  princes,  and  popes,  ]J 
and  she  acted   as   mediator  between  Church  and 
State.    The  interesting  story  of  her  life  is  told  in 
this  volume. 

Southern  Star,  Atlanta,  Ga.:  "There  is  an  especial 
fitness  in  bringing  to  the  frcnt  such  a  woman  preacher  in 
the  day  when  godly  women  arc  fast  comlns  Into  real  promi- 
nence as  workers  in  the  mission  field  at  home  and  abroad, 
and  when  the  sisterhood  of  the  race  seems  to  be  for  the 
first  time  mounting  to  the  true  throne  of  woman's  influence 
and  kingdom." 

Ep worth  Herald,  Chicago:  "Her  story  ought,  If 
widely  read,  to  arouse  in  the  women  of  to-dny  a  desire  to 
emulate  the  virtues  of  their  illustrious  sister  of  the  past."       <| 

The  liiving  Church,  Chicago:  "How  few  In  our  day,  3 
even  among  our  ln:jh  school  and  college  graduates,  know  ~ 
anything  about  this  devoted  woman." 

Christian  Herald,  Detroit,  ]\Ilch.:  "The  story  is  well 
told  by  Dr.  Pierson,  whose  own  piety  is  of  the  same  mys- 
tical but  evangelical  type." 


The  Boston  Times:  "The  modern  woman  striving 
for  nobler  things  will  be  helped  by  this  sketch." 

Pittshurg  Christian  Advocate  :  "Its  papres  are 
brimful  of  inspiration,  while  at  the  same  time  they  narrate 
a  history  most  thrilling  and  ennobling." 


12ino,  Cloth,  Cover  Design. 
Price,  50  cents,  post-paid. 


\ 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY,  Publishers,   \ 

30  Lafayette  Place,  New  York. 


P    "  '  The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World '  is  the  only  3 

f     complete  current  Review  of  Missionary  operations  and  2 

Missiotmry  problems  in  connection  with  all  Protestant  «|j 

Hi    Agencies  all  the  tvorld  over.'^—lhe  Rock,  London.  i 


THE 


Missionary  Review 


> 
> 

I                             OF  THE  WORLD  j 

C  An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  furnishing  } 

J  a  bright  and  authentic  record  of  the  progress,  J 

p>  stirring  events,  and  statistics  of  the  world-  4 

J  wide  mission  field.     It  is  hmited  by  no  de-  J 

)»  nominational  or  national  lines  ;  its  various  n) 

j  departments  are  edited  by  specialists,  com-  J 

►  prehending  every  feature  of  home  and  for-  4 

S^  eign  missions.     Little  in  romance  exceeds  J 

the  intensely  interesting  and  often  thrilling  < 

f  stories  of  the  mission  field.  J 

5            REVIEW    DEPARTMENTS  J 

J  Literature  of  Missions      International  Dep't  J 

[  Field  of  Monthly  Survey     Editorial  Department  J 

>  General  Missionary  Intelligence  < 

I         SPECIAL  STAFF  CORRESPONDENTS  J 

|»  in  Turkey,  Burma,  Korea,  Madagascar,  Persia,  i 

>  Egypt,  China,  New  Hebrides,  England,  Canada,  < 
J  Mexico,  Argentina,  Spain,  India,  Morocco,  Af-  J 
pi  rica,  Japan,  Syria,  Italy,  Australia,  Grermany,  1 

►  France,  Brazil,  and  many  other  countries.  i 

> _ j 

h  "  '  The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World  '  sweeps  its  vision  2 

Et  over  the  entire  wo7id,  and  it  not  only  sees,  but  knoivs  how  ^(^ 

\  to  tell  what  it  sees."— The  American  Missionary,  N.  Y.  <|j 

\ — ' ~ -J 

\                  (Continued  on  the  following  page)  \ 


■ww^-vmrw-vwrvvvw^atv 


> 


> 


> 


m  Missionary  Review  of  tlie  Woria-  (CoQtlnnel) 


Hi  "-It  is  FAR  AWAY  THE  BEST  THING  OUT.     In  evevy  TC-  2 

^  sped— literary  style,  breadth,  7iews,  get-up,  kight;  4 

B»  but,  of  course,  stick  a  big  thing  as  Britishers  have  not  A 

\  dreamed  of  in  77iission3. ""—Ihe  Review  of  Reviews.  K 


The  Review's  Special  Attractions  | 

►   It  is  for  all  English  speaking  people  in  all  J 

J   lands  who  wish  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  J 

missionary  progress  of  the  church  universal.  4 

Series  of  inspiring  Articles  J 

pt    Valuable  and  inspiring  articles  are  presented  treating  of  4 

bi    the  prominent  spiritual  movements  before  the  public,  i 

Pi    The  range  of  topics  is  broad,  the  editors  believing  that  a  4 

^    healthy  and  progressive  religious  life  is  the  only  solid  « 

^    basis  for  effectual  work.  j 

Missionary  Periodicals  Reviewed  J 

In  the  department  of  extracts  from  current  missionary  ^ 

magazines  of  the  world,  their  important  articles  are  care-  4 

fuily  epitomized,  this  feature  making  it  a  missionary  <^ 

Review  of  Reviews.  <| 

World's  Religious  Progress  t 

It  is  a  storehouse  of  authoritative  fact,  and  as  a  reference  2 

work  it  is  a  help  to  active  religious  workers  in  all  fields,  d 

A  year's  issues  of  the  Review  constitute  an  annual  en-  1^ 

cyclopedia  of  religious  knowledge.  4 


iki 


COMMENDED    IN    HIGH    TERMS 

Right  Rev.  F.  D.  Huntington,  D.D.,  L,I,.I>., 

Bishop  of  Central  N.  Y.  Diocese :  "  The  Missionary  Re- 
view OP  THE  World  supplies  a  carefully  gai  hered  treasury 
of  knowledge,  at  once  authentic  and  comprehensive." 

Herrick  Johnson,  D.D.,  Chicago:  "There  Is  noth- 
ing equal  to  It  within  my  knowledge  In  the  entire  field  of 
missions." 

Missionary  Outlook,  Toronto,  Ontario:  "This  is 
without  exception  the  best  missionary  periodical  of  which 
we  have  any  knowledge." 

The  Westminster  Endeavorer,  Indianapolis,  Ind.: 
"  This  admirable  periodical  ought  to  go  into  every  Christian    3 
home  in  the  world,  so  Inspiring  and  helpful  are  Its  pages."    4 

Terms  of  Subscription  4 

$2.50  per  year;  $2.00  in  clubs  of  ten  or  more.  i 

Single  copy,  25  cents.  4 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY,  Publishers,  J 
30  Lafayette  Place,  New  York. 


Date  Due 

Jl  27*38 

.^p  -•  0 

' 

'  ""^^"^i""— 

'^ 

f) 

